Designing in safety: key considerations for working at height

1. Start with legal duties

The UK’s Work at Height Regulations (first published in April 2005 and updated in 2007) bring together legislation surrounding working at height. As part of this, CDM Regulations (2015) set out the duties and responsibilities of the principal designer.

These duties include making sure:

• All work at height is properly planned and organised
• Those involved in work at height are competent
• The risks from work at height are assessed, and appropriate work equipment is selected and used
• The risks of working on or near fragile surfaces are properly managed
• Equipment used for work at height is properly inspected and maintained

Safety should not be treated as an add-on detail resolved at technical design stage. It should inform massing, roof configuration, access strategy and maintenance planning from concept onward.

2. Follow the hierarchy of fall protection

There are many scenarios for maintenance access. A core principle in fall protection is the hierarchy of fall protection, which helps structure planning from the outset. The hierarchy follows three steps:

• Eliminate the risk (wherever possible)
• Guard the hazard when you cannot eliminate risk (collective protection)
• Protect the worker in every situation (personal protection)

Collective protection: the preferred solution

Where the risk cannot be eliminated, collective protection – such as permanent or temporary guardrails – should be prioritised. Collective protection is any system that allows numerous untrained users to access an area whilst reducing the risk of fall hazards, without the need for Personal Protective Equipment (such as harnesses and lanyards).

Once properly installed or erected, collective protection does not require any action by workers, or specialist training, to help keep workers safe.

A collective protection system may be required to undergo testing depending on the application on which it is intended to be used. A valid declaration of conformity should be available after completion of testing.

The same due diligence process is appropriate when looking at temporary edge protection during construction, as you would for permanent edge protection for ongoing building access.

Personal protection: designing for restraint or arrest

Personal protection systems safeguard individual users from risks associated with working at height and are often specified when a collective system is not feasible.

There are two categories of personal protection systems – fall arrest and fall restraint. Often the generic term ‘fall arrest system’ is used for both types but there are notable differences to understand between them.

The most secure version of a personal protection system is a fall restraint system, where each worker wears a full body harness and a lanyard connecting them to a lifeline system which is anchored to the building or structure. The lanyard length is fixed so that the worker cannot reach any anticipated fall hazard. With no need for lanyard adjustment, basic training is generally considered sufficient. A fall restraint system should accommodate at least two people to encourage adherence to safe working practices.

In some instances, however, it is impractical or impossible to design a fall restraint system, and there are fall hazards which cannot be eliminated or avoided – such as roof-lights – that may not be safe to walk on. In situations like this a fall arrest system is used.

This means that fall hazards can be reached by a worker on a fixed or variable length lanyard when they are secured to a lifeline system. Under the Work at Height Regulations, a fall arrest system should have restricted access and personnel using these systems must have undergone specialist training to safely secure and adjust their personal protective equipment (PPE).  For example, some routes may require the use of two lanyards to safely navigate into areas requiring access.

Like the fall restraint systems, a fall arrest system should be designed to accommodate a minimum of two workers as there is an additional requirement for a rescue plan to be in place should a fall occur and a user be suspended in their harness.

3. System testing and standards

System testing and standards can be complex. Safety managers should consider whether any specified systems and products are tested to the latest standard – and beyond.

There are a few key standards to be aware of:

• EN 795: the standard which specifies testing for anchor devices (single point anchors) within personal fall protection systems.
• CEN TS 16415:2013: specifies testing and standards for anchor devices system used by multiple users at one time, and on a specific base material
• EN 17235: the recently harmonised standard for permanently installed anchor devices
• UK’s Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) Regulations 2015: putting responsibility on clients, contractors and designers, among others, to eliminate, reduce or control risks through the design of buildings, from the very outset.

 4. Other ‘considerations’

There are a number of considerations that may impact choice and design of safety systems.

These include (but are not limited to):

• Bespoke engineered systems into masonry or steelwork
• Requirements for continuous connections through components
• Inclusion on walkways to provide anti-slip surfaces and safe movement in areas where there are potential fall hazards
• Fragile roofs (which need protection if access is required)
• Ladder systems and the levels of protection they offer
• Use of self-retracting lifelines
• Window maintenance – which may need to be accessed from within

5. From compliance to design responsibility

Designing safety into buildings is about ownership. The regulations make clear that responsibility sits with those who commission, design and manage buildings. By embedding fall protection strategy early – aligned with hierarchy principles, tested interfaces, clear access routes and rescue planning – building owners, architects, and principal designers can transform safety into a core design value.

In doing so, buildings become not only striking and functional, but fundamentally safer for the people who maintain them throughout their lifespan. MSA is passionate about equipping architects, principal designers and specifiers with the tools and knowledge to deliver the highest levels of safety and fall protection.