Health and Safety - Working at Height

Policy

The Board of Directors and the Chief Executive of the Society recognise the dangers which can arise from unsafe Working at Height in the workplace, and their legal duty to have an adequate system of controlling any such work at height and to meet their responsibilities, they have adopted the following.

Definition of Work at Height (WaH)

For the purpose of definition, Work at Height (WaH) means:

• Any work in any place, including a place at or below ground level, obtaining access to or egress from such place while at work, except by a staircase in a permanent workplace, where, if measures required by the Work at Height Regulations 2005 were not taken, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury.

• This policy is aimed at site managers and they shall carry delegated responsibility to ensure that where colleagues work at height, it is carried out in a safe manner as per the Society’s procedures for working at height.

• The term working at height will mean any work at height including working off ladders or steps, or any other form of safety device (cherry picker etc.), to carry out any permitted duties which involves work above or below ground level.

Working at Height (WaH)

The Society only allows works at height where there is no other alternative to completing the work.

The Society only permits the use of equipment for work at height that is appropriate for the task. The suitability of the equipment at site level is decided by site managers who have the knowledge, experience and / or training to carry out risk assessments of any such tasks

Should mobile work equipment be required for any tasks it will be hired in as and when required and it is the responsibility of the hire company to ensure it is safe prior to use and only trained persons will be permitted to use any such equipment.

The Society also has procedures in place to ensure inspections of its ladder takes place (See the policy – Control and Use of Ladders). Work on ladders is only permitted to be carried out for short duration tasks where the whole task would not be any longer than approx. 20 minutes dependent upon use.

The Society will only permit persons to work at height once they have received adequate information, instruction and training. See COP’s for Kick Stools and Stepladders.

Managers Responsibility for Work at Heights

The Society ensures that colleagues who work at height and those who supervise them are given adequate information, instruction, and training to enable them to carry out any work at height safely (i.e. – replenishing shelves / retrieving stock to replenish shelves etc.) and where any non-daily routine work at height is to take place it is the managers responsibility to ensure that a full risk assessment of the task required is carried out or contacts the Health & Safety Team for further guidance.

The Society requires site specific risk assessments to be carried out for all work at height that is not already covered in the existing site risk register and the development of safe systems of work will be required and this will be the responsibility of the site manager to ensure any such risk assessments are carried out.

Where building works or maintenance work is to be carried out at sites, this will fall under the remit of the Property Group to ensure all Contractors are controlled adequately; risk assessments and method statements have been collected and agreed as fit for purpose for the work to be carried out. It is the responsibility of the site manager to ensure that contractors work safely whilst on site. See the policy 'Controlling Contarctors on Site'

Managers shall ensure:

• New and young colleagues are not permitted to work at height until they have received adequate information, instruction and training.

• No one will be permitted to work at height who is not properly trained or who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

• They do not permit work at height in poor weather conditions which would impact on the personal safety of those working at height.

• Only competent and trained persons (Colleagues or Contractors) are asked to work at height.

• Any routine safety inspection of equipment for WaH is carried out and subsequent records filled in and a copy kept on site for the next Health & Safety Audit.

• Where WaH is being carried out by colleagues, they are using the correct equipment for the task (i.e. - that is suitably designed for persons for work at height).

• They do not permit persons to use any other piece of work equipment that is not designed for the purpose of working at height where WaH is required.

• That they make regular visual checks on colleagues using all equipment for working at height so as to ensure it is positioned or installed correctly and being used correctly (as per the COP’s) and for the task it was designed.

• Any accidents and incidents that resulted from work at height to be reported in accordance with Society reporting procedure and then investigated where required in line with the Society’s accident investigation policy.

Colleagues Responsibilities for Work at Height

All colleagues who carry out Work at Height shall ensure that they:

• Report any activity they feel is unsafe relating to work at height which is likely to endanger the safety of themselves or other persons.

• Report any damaged or faulty equipment, provided for the purpose of work at height, to their line manager immediately and not use the equipment until it has been inspected or replaced.

• Use and operate all equipment for use at height in line with safe working practices, instruction, information and training provided by the Society.

• Only work at height for the tasks where they have received the appropriate information, instruction and training.

• Comply with mandatory signage and / or where they are instructed by a line manager to wear the correct personal protective equipment when working at height they do so.

Work at Height in Customer Areas

The Society strives to minimise the risks at work at all times. Its aim is to provide a safe working environment at all times for all colleagues, customers and any other relevant third parties. Please ensure any WaH in customer facing areas (whether by colleagues or contractors) is carried out in a safe manner and that all equipment is removed from the shop floor when not in use and items such as ladders are not left unattended.