The Working At Height Hierarchy Of Control Explained (With Examples)

Working at height is dangerous. It's number one on our list of the top 5 construction safety hazards because falls from height are one of the biggest causes of workplace fatalities and major injuries in the UK.

With statistics like that, it's no surprise that working at height has its own health and safety regulations - The Work at Height Regulations.

And within the regulations, in Regulation 6 (Avoidance of risks from work at height), you can find what is often referred to as the working at height hierarchy of controls:

• Avoid working at height
• Prevent falls
• Minimise the distance and consequences of falls

Before working at height you must work through these simple steps:

• avoid work at height where it is reasonably practicable to do so;
• where work at height cannot be avoided, prevent falls using either an existing place of work that is already safe or the right type of equipment; > - minimise the distance and consequences of a fall, by using the right type of equipment where the risk cannot be eliminated.

In this blog post, we will explain the three main steps of the working at height hierarchy, with examples from common work at height scenarios.

1. Avoid working at height

(2) Every employer shall ensure that work is not carried out at height where it is reasonably practicable to carry out the work safely otherwise than at height.

The best way to avoid risk from working at height is not to work at height in the first place. The best way to avoid a hazard is to eliminate it, and that's the same as the hierarchy of risk control, where the top control is elimination.

If we avoid working at height, we eliminate the hazard.

Work at height can often be eliminated by carrying out the work in a different way. For example, instead of replacing a second-floor window from the outside, you might be able to do the work from the inside of the building at floor level. And instead of climbing a ladder to clean the window, you might be able to clean it using extendable water-fed poles.

Examples of avoiding work at height include:

• using extending poles or tools
• carrying out assembly work at ground level before lifting into place
• lowering items to ground level for repairs

The great thing about this top level of the working at height hierarchy is that by removing work at height, you don't need to worry about working at height safety if you don't work at height in the first place!

Of course, it's not always possible to avoid working at height, but where you can, you should. Where you can't, you can move on to the next level in the working at height hierarchy - preventing falls.

2. Prevent falls

(3) Where work is carried out at height, every employer shall take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury.

The biggest risk when working at height is falls. When a person falls from a height, the consequences are often serious or fatal. So if you do need to work from height, and it can't be avoided, the next best way to stay safe, is to prevent falls from height happening.

Preventing falls is not just about deciding you will try your best not to fall, that would not count as a control measure. Preventing falls is making sure that a fall cannot happen. It's not possible to fall. You cannot physically get into a position where a fall from height could occur.

You can prevent falls by working from an existing place of work that is already safe or by using the right type of equipment.

Examples of preventing falls include:

• a guarded mezzanine floor
• a flat roof with a parapet wall perimeter
• machinery with fixed guards
• scaffolding with edge protection
• tower scaffolding
• scissor lifts
• worker restraint systems

If workers at height are prevented from falling, then many fatal and serious accidents wouldn't happen. A barrier or restraint would mean that workers are kept safely and securely on the working platform.

But it's not always possible to prevent falls. Maybe it's not possible to install edge protection, or there would be a risk of falls when you install it. If it's not possible to prevent a fall you can move to the next level in the working at height hierarchy - minimise the distance and consequences of falls.

3. Minimise the distance and consequences of falls

(5) Where the measures taken under paragraph (4) do not eliminate the risk of a fall occurring, every employer shall—

1. so far as is reasonably practicable, provide sufficient work equipment to minimise—
   • (i) the distance and consequences; or
   • (ii) where it is not reasonably practicable to minimise the distance, the consequences, of a fall; [...]

The last level of the working at height hierarchy comes after you have already tried to avoid working at height, and to prevent falls.

But what if you can't prevent falls? For example, you might be installing scaffolding and edge protection isn't yet in place. Or you might be replacing a fragile roof surface or roof lights and need access to these areas.

If falls cannot be completely prevented you must minimise the distance and consequences of a fall, by using the right type of equipment. You'll need to use work equipment, training, instruction and/or other measures to minimise the distance and consequence of a fall should one occur.

Examples of minimising the distance and consequences of a fall include:

• safety nets
• soft landing systems
• rope access systems
• fall arrest systems

You should pick the work equipment that will make any falls as safe as possible, and have a work at height rescue plan in place to recover workers to safety if they do fall.

When choosing equipment for working at height, consider collective protection measures, like edge protection, over personal protection measures, like worker restraint systems. Collective measures are called collective because they protect more than one person. They protect a group, or even everyone, doing the task.

Usually, collective protective measures are the best option, because they protect more than one person, and also because they are usually passive (meaning they don't need to be activated by the individuals using them).

You might need to use a combination of collective and personal protection measures. Sometimes, only personal protective measures may be practical, or some risks may remain after using a collective measure.

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Learn more about working at height safely and the working at height regulations with our working at height online course and get your certificate.