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Working at height can create serious risks across construction, maintenance and other activities. HSE’s guidance emphasises planning, suitable equipment, competent people and supervision. An effective management system helps an organisation check how those arrangements work in practice.
Begin with the work, rather than the paperwork
HSE’s approach starts with considering whether work at height can reasonably be avoided. Where it cannot, the focus is on preventing falls and, where a risk remains, limiting their consequences. Measures that protect everyone at risk should be considered before measures relying on individual action. The appropriate precautions depend on competent assessment of the task.
Does the assessment reflect the actual activity?
An audit might examine how the organisation considers changing access arrangements, fragile surfaces, equipment and the people involved. Speaking with workers and observing relevant activities can help test whether a written assessment reflects operating conditions.
Are responsibilities and competence clear?
Useful evidence can include how people are selected for tasks, what instruction they receive and how supervision identifies problems. Training records should connect to the activity being undertaken. Contractors and changes to the work should also be considered within the organisation’s arrangements.
What happens when a control is missing?
Ask how workers raise concerns, who decides whether work can proceed and how issues are resolved. HSE guidance also highlights access, equipment condition, falling objects and emergency arrangements. Technical decisions should be made by people competent for the work, using the applicable guidance.
Are lessons followed through?
Near misses, observations and incidents can reveal recurring weaknesses. Managers can examine why an issue occurred and whether subsequent action is effective across similar tasks. An audit can test that follow-through rather than treating a signed instruction as sufficient evidence on its own.
What ISO 45001 certification demonstrates
ISO 45001 provides a framework for managing occupational health and safety. HSE assesses legal compliance using wider evidence than a claim of conformity with the standard. Certification does not remove an organisation’s responsibilities or guarantee that an accident cannot happen.
AAA provides independent certification audits of implemented systems. Explore ISO 45001 certification or get an indicative audit price.
Sources: HSE’s introduction to working at height safely; HSE guidance on ISO 45001.