There are lots of things to consider when you undertake a project at height. On the one hand, safety is paramount and you should be employing systems such as horizontal lifeline systems. On-the-other-hand, you need to think carefully about access to roofs etc.
What do we mean by access? There are safety concerns not only when one is positioned on a roof or other raised area but also during the process of gaining access to raised areas. Often gaining access to roof areas etc is difficult, especially when we’re talking about irregular spaces or idiosyncratic roof spaces.
One common solution is for workers to use Mobile Elevating Work Platforms. These are platforms such as cherry pickers, scissor lifts etc and are commonly used where reaching high areas is a challenge. They themselves incorporated various safety features, such as guardrails and toe boards.
Another common solution is to use access ladders. These are ladders that can be installed on site to provide easy access to any raised area. They too incorporate various safety features, notably many access ladders come fitted with a safety cage. Where a safety cage isn’t feasible a fall arrest system can be incorporated into the ladder.
The safety features that are incorporated into access ladder systems or MEWPs aren’t arbitrary and they are governed by the HSE, Health and Safety Executive, as such a failure to provide safe access to raised areas could warrant a serious fine.
