Hazards of Working at Height

The ultimate hazard of working at height is, of course, falling. You do not have to fall from a great height to injure yourself. The severity of your injury is determined by many factors including weight, age, how you land, and the surface you fall on.

When we hear the phrase ‘working at height’ it’s common to assume this refers to working on roofs or skyscrapers, but actually, the UK Health & Safety Executive defines it as "work carried out in any place where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury".

If you or someone you employ is in ANY way capable of falling from a height and sustaining an injury, you must take the proper safety precautions. When trying to determine the risks of your workplace it may be necessary to do a height risk assessment. You can read more about this here: Working at Height Risk Assessment

Regardless of the height you work at, it’s important to remember that catastrophic injuries or even death can happen from falls of only a few feet. The hazards of working at height should not be underestimated, and it’s important to provide the proper equipment to ensure safety.

Common hazards of working at height

While falling is most likely the most common hazard of working at height, there are others to be aware of. These include:

• Dropping/falling equipment - Falling equipment can be fatal. It is vital that the proper height safety equipment is used to stop workers from being able to drop objects like tools from height.
  
  
• Insufficient PPE - If you or your workers are not wearing the required protective clothing, they are at risk of injury. Protective equipment such as hard hats can help to keep you or your employees safe.
  
  
• Lack of/poor risk assessment - A thorough risk assessment will identify and analyse any potential hazards to best prepare workers in the event of an incident. Inadequate risk assessment put everyone involved at risk.
  
  
• Inexperience - Mistakes happen, but knowingly allowing inexperienced members of staff to carry out tasks at height is extremely dangerous.

We provide various equipment to reduce the risk of falling such as safety harnesses, fall arrest blocks, and ladder safety kits. We also offer a working at height training course to ensure you know exactly how to keep yourself safe. 

Full Range of Height Safety Equipment 

If you have any further queries about how to keep you or anyone else safe from the hazards of working at height, feel free to get in touch. Our helpful team is more than happy to give you advice.