Safety training is a crucial aspect of any organization as it equips employees with the knowledge and skills necessary to identify and mitigate potential hazards in the workplace. By providing regular safety training, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of accidents, injuries, and illnesses, thereby protecting their most valuable assets - their employees. Moreover, safety training also helps to promote a culture of safety, encourages employees to take ownership of their safety, and fosters a positive and healthy work environment. Ultimately, safety training is essential for ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, preventing losses, and maintaining business continuity.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY WORKING AT HEIGHT? 

Work at height is often considered (and sometimes defined in regulations) to mean work carried out at an elevation of more than 1.8 meters or in some cases 1.5 meters. This guidance, however, applies to all work at height where there may be a significant risk of personal injury in the case of a fall. This may be at levels below 1.8/1.5 meters and also includes work at ground level adjacent to an edge or pit/pond that could result in a fall, and obtaining access to or exiting from a workplace (except by a staircase in a permanent workplace). 

TRAINING & COMPETENCY 

All personnel carrying out or supervising work at height activities should be trained and competent to do so. This includes specific training in the type of equipment being used, its construction (e.g. in the case of scaffolds), use and inspection/maintenance requirements. Competency and training requirements should be clearly defined in the operation’s systems and procedures, and appropriate records maintained. Competency should be periodically assessed and refresher training carried out as appropriate. Training requirements associated with specific working at height methods/equipment are discussed in the relevant sections below. 

MEDICAL FITNESS 

Systems should be in place to ensure that those working at height are fit to do so. Specific consideration should be given to personnel who suffer medical conditions such as vertigo (see photo below) and epilepsy, as well as considering the weight of the person using the harness (e.g. many harnesses have a maximum weight limit of 136kg/300 lbs.).