D: High risk activities

1.1 The HSE website has many resources, including a dedicated work at height section that includes information on the Work at Height Regulations, including INDG401 (Rev 2) Working at height - A brief guide .

1.5 To assist trainers in this respect British Standards publishes the Code of Practice for the delivery of training and education for work at height and rescue (BS 8454).

1.7 The HSE has developed a brief step-by-step guide to help workers at height understand the key factors to consider when selecting the safest and most appropriate types of access equipment .

1.8.2 The Ladder Association, in consultation with the HSE, has produced risk assessment guides for ladders and stepladders .

1.14.3 The Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme (CISRS) has a card scheme in place for people working in the scaffolding industry, including scaffolders, trainee scaffolders, labourers, supervisors and inspectors .

2.1.1 For further information on the Building regulations and fire safety document visit the NFCC website.

2.1.1 For further sources of information and guidance relating to roof work visit the following websites:

• Advisory Committee for Roofsafety (ACR)
• National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC)
• National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC)
• Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
• British Constructional Steelwork Association

2.1.1 For further information on the Safety Steps guidance and Building Regulations and fire safety document visit the websites. 

• Safety Steps

2.1.1 For further information and a link to download the guidance, please visit the Construction Industry Publications website.

2.1.1 For further information on the Building Safety Act 2022, visit the HSE website.

2.3.1 The Advisory Committee for Roofsafety is a body dedicated to making working on roofs safer. It was established in 1998 and is made up of nominees from HSE, trade associations and organisations involved in roof work that provide many years of experience of involvement in working on roofs in the advice given in their documents.

2.3.2 For additional information and resources visit the HSE website.

2.3.2.1 The Advisory Committee for Roofsafety (ACR), which is the lead authority in the UK on roof work health and safety and represents all the relevant trade associations, has published jointly with the HSE definitive guidance on what constitutes fragile material: Red book – Test for non-fragility of large element roofing assemblies (ACR[M] 001:2019).

2.4.2 For further information refer to the ACR’s Guidance note for competence and general fitness requirements to work on roofs.

2.4.3.2 For detailed guidance on wind speed advice for different roof work refer to the HSE guidance Health and safety in roof work (HSG33).

2.4.3.2 For further information refer to the National Federation of Roofing Contractors’ guidance booklet Roofing and cladding in windy conditions.

2.4.3.3 For further information refer to the HSE guidance Fire safety in construction (HSG168).

2.5.6 For further information refer to Solar panel installation (GS001) (907KB, PDF)

2.6 Refer to the HSE publication Health and safety in roof work (HSG33) (paragraphs 170-202) and Fragile roofs (GEIS5) for details of the dangers presented by fragile surfaces:

• Health and safety in roof work
• Fragile roofs

2.7 The HSE has produced Asbestos essentials, a task manual for building, maintenance and allied trades on how to safely carry out non-licensed work involving asbestos.

2.8.2 For further information on this course, and the regulations, refer to:

• The Ladder Association website
• Schedule 6 of the Work at Height Regulations

2.8.7.1 For further information refer to the following:

• The International Powered Access Federation website

2.8.7.2 For further information visit the International Powered Access Federation website.

2.8.7.3 For further information visit the Specialist Access Engineering and Maintenance Association website.

2.8.8 For further information refer to the following:

• FASET website
• The Blue book – Recommended practice for the use of safety nets for roof work (ACR[P]003:2016 Rev 2), published by the Advisory Committee for Roofsafety

2.9 For further information refer to Health and safety in roof work (HSG33) and the NFRC guidance for handling roofing sheets and recommended safe wind speeds.

• Health and safety in roof work
• NFRC guidance

3.2 The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has developed a brief step-by-step guide. 

3.3 For further information on the performance and effectiveness of ladder stability devices visit the HSE website.

3.3.1 The Ladder Association, a not-for-profit body dedicated to promoting safe ladder use, has produced a safety guide for users of telescopic ladders - an increasingly popular piece of equipment for working at height - following recent reports of unsafe products in the UK. Visit the Ladder Association website to download a free copy of the guidance.

3.3.2 All ladders should be marked with a unique identification number and the class or duty rating. For more comprehensive guidance refer to LA455 Safe Use of Ladders and Stepladders - a brief guide, the new guidance jointly produced by the Ladder Association and the HSE. Released in July 2021, the guidance replaces the HSE Guidance Document INDG455 of the same name.

3.4 For further information about low-level access equipment and training visit the PASMA website. 

3.6 For further information on tower scaffolds visit the HSE website. 

3.6.3 For further information about training on the safe use of mobile towers visit the PASMA website. 

3.6.9 Training courses are available from CITB, as well as from manufacturers and suppliers. Certificates should be provided as proof of training.

3.9 The No Falls Foundation is the first and only UK-based charity devoted exclusively to the work at height sector. With stakeholders including the Ladder Association, the AIF and the HSE, the foundation is dedicated to preventing falls from height and helping people affected by the life-changing consequences of a fall.
For further information on risk assessment, selecting the right equipment and the importance of training, visit the No Falls Foundation website.

4.1.1 The British and European Standards can be accessed via the British Standards Institution (BSI) website.

4.1.1 Visit the Scaffolding Association and NASC websites for further information:

• Scaffolding Association
• NASC

4.1.3.1 The CISRS website provides further information on UK-recognised training schemes within the scaffolding industry. 

4.3.2 For further information, including a list of scaffold structures where bespoke design is recommended, refer to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) scaffold checklist.

4.3.4 SG4 is free to download from the NASC website 

4.3.5 For further information on rescue planning refer to:

• Work at Height Safety Association's practical guidance note Guidance on rescue during work at height (PGN03)
• NASC safety guidance note (SG19)

4.6 For further information about scaffold inspection qualifications refer to the CISRS scaffold inspection training scheme (SITS). 

4.6.4 For further information refer to Access and egress from scaffolds (SG25:20).

4.7.2 Guidance on protection of the public (SG34:17) provides general advice for scaffolds erected in the public domain, including the planning required and the range of precautions that should be considered to eliminate the likelihood of harm (for example, through falling material or transport accidents).

4.7.2 TG20 includes compliant scaffolding features (such as pavement lifts up to 2.7 m and light-duty protection fans) .

4.7.2 Reference should also be made to the HSE guidance document Protecting the public - Your next move (HSG151).

4.7.5 For further information, refer to the: 

• HSE's guidance Health and safety in roof work (HSG33)
• Edge Protection Federation's Code of Practice 2014 - A guide to the selection and use of temporary edge protection systems.

5.2 For further information visit the HSE website.

5.3.2 Information on netting training providers is available from FASET, the netting industry trade body.

5.3.3 FASET’s The selection of access methods to install and dismantle safety netting can be freely downloaded from its website

5.3.4 For further information refer to FASET’s The testing of safety nets for UV degradation (Bulletin no.3) (588KB, PDF). 

5.3.5 A safety net inspection sheet template is available from FASET upon request

5.5.6 The Work at Height Safety Association (WAHSA) has produced leaflets and information on the use and positioning of fall-arrest equipment for those working at height. 

5.5.6 For further information visit the HSE website. 

5.5.8 For full details refer to the HSE publication Inspecting fall arrest equipment made from webbing or rope (INDG367).

5.6 The trade association that governs the rope access industry is the Industrial Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA).

5.6 The trade associations for the steeplejack industry are the:

• Association of Technical Lightning and Access Specialists (ATLAS)
• the Steeplejack and Lightning Protection Training Group (SLPTG)

5.7 For further information visit the Specialist Access Engineering and Maintenance Association (SAEMA) website .

6.2 Information on the structural stability of excavations can be found on the construction pages of the HSE website. 

6.3.3.1 The Construction Plant-hire Association has produced guidance on the management of shoring in excavations, aimed at anyone involved in the planning, management, design and supervision of excavation works. 

6.4.3 For further guidance refer to the HSE publications The safe use of vehicles on construction sites (HSG144)  and Construction site transport safety: Safe use of site dumpers (CIS52) which can be downloaded free from the HSE website.

7.3.1 The guidance document Avoiding danger from underground services (HSG47) can be downloaded from the HSE website.

7.3.3 Full information can be obtained from the Positioning and colour coding of underground utilities' apparatus.

7.4.1 The Utility Strike Avoidance Group (USAG) has a free online toolkit, Best practice in avoiding underground services.

7.6.3 For further information and guidance on recommended good practices and safety in piling operations, visit the Federation of Piling Specialists website.

7.6.4 For information on working adjacent to underground pipelines and the location of underground pipelines around the UK visit the Linewatch and Linesearch websites.

7.8.3 For further information refer to the HSE guidance note Avoiding danger from overhead power lines (GS6).

8.4 The complete regulations and the ACoP and guidance notes, which includes a flowchart to help in the decision-making process, can be downloaded for free from the HSE website.

8.5 Tunnelling offers more specific challenges. For the latest updates on training standards visit the Pipe Jacking Association and the British Tunnelling Society websites:

• Pipe Jacking Association
• British Tunnelling Society.

8.6.7 For more detailed information on fit testing RPE, go to the HSE website to read or download their publication Guidance on respiratory protective equipment (RPE) fit testing INDG479.

8.6.14.2 The HSE publication Respiratory protective equipment at work – A practical guide (HSG53) sets out the nominal protection factor for each type of respirator and describes their limitations; it should be carefully consulted in cases of doubt.

9.3.1 For further guidance on DSEAR visit the HSE website. 

9.4.2 For further information on the requirements of CDG and ADR visit the HSE website.

9.7.3 Gas cylinder identification. Label and colour coding requirements  (TIS6) can be downloaded for free from the British Compressed Gases Association website 

9.8.7.1 The HSE has published a leaflet Working safely with acetylene (INDG327) and the British Compressed Gases Association (BCGA) has a useful leaflet The carriage of small quantities of gas cylinders on vehicles as well as a wider range of publications that may be helpful:

• Working safely with acetylene 

9.8.7.3 For information on fire extinguisher requirements when carrying dangerous goods visit the HSE guidance.

9.9.2 For further information on legislation and other resources, including guidance and incident reports, visit the HSE website.