Lockton Health and Safety Manual

HSP6 Working at Heights Introduction   Many work activities involve working at height, working from  ladders, scaffolds and platforms are obvious examples, but there are  many more activities where people are at risk from falling from one  level to another (for example: from a set of stepladders).   Falls from height are responsible for many serious and fatal injuries  every year (in the UK in 2003/04 there were 67 fatalities and 4000  major injuries). If you fall from a height above two meters the  likelihood is that you will sustain a serious injury.   Those most at risk include workers in maintenance and construction,  but many other people in a variety of jobs could be at risk of falling  from height at work.   The main hazards associated with working at height are people  falling from one level to another, and objects falling onto people.  These may occur as a result of inadequate work equipment, unstable  platforms (e.g. small stepladders), lack of planning of the task.   Definitions   Working at Height – In general, this means working anywhere from  where a fall from one level to another can occur resulting in personal  injury.   Policy Statement   Whilst working at height is unlikely to be a core activity for the vast  majority of Lockton workers, due to the serious nature of the risks  posed by this work activity there is no room for complacency.  Lockton will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the necessary  preventive and protective measures to prevent falls of either persons  or materials in the workplace are implemented, and will further

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V7 01/12/2017 uncontrolled Document when printed