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This Scottish Clay Target Association Limited (SCTA) "Health and Safety Policy" document is issued only for the guidance of affiliated Grounds and Members with a view to assisting and encouraging the maintenance of a safe clay target shooting environment. It must not be considered as a definitive interpretation of the "Health and Safety" legislation. It is specifically incumbent on every Affiliated Ground and Member involved in the management of any clay target shooting event to be fully aware of the legislation as it applies in their particular circumstance. Grounds and Members must seek the necessary professional advice and the SCTA assumes no responsibility in this regard. WORKING AT HEIGHT Towers and platforms Falls from height account for almost 25% of deaths in workplaces each year. Most accidents involving falls could have been prevented if the right equipment had been provided and properly used. Ladders are a frequent cause of accidents. They should not be used as a working platform - only for access. All falls need to be prevented, but specific precautions must be taken where it is possible to fall further than two metres. At what height do I need to consider the regulations? • Any workplace elevated above 2 metres from ground level Is a workplace for which the regulations are relevant. Current statutory requirements Current statutory requirements relating to falls from heights are contained in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. There are also specific requirements relating to prevention of falls when carrying out maintenance work, in the form of the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996. So far as reasonably practicable, suitable and effective measures must be taken (other than by provision of personal protective equipment, training, information, supervision etc.) to prevent: • Any person falling a distance likely to cause personal injury; or • Any person being struck by a falling object likely to cause personal injury. What can be done to prevent falls? • Plan all instances of working at height • Think about where the work is to be done • Where possible use an existing structure, which will allow safe access and provide a safe working platform. Where this is not possible, a safe working platform will need to be provided. • Remember that this may give access to dangerous parts of machinery so then the necessary precautions will have to be taken and controls will have to be put in place • Consider any lifting and handling requirements needed to carry out the work • Be aware and prevent possible electric shock dangers that may initiate accidents What are the main rules to follow when working at height? • First, as a part of the planning of the work, carry out a Risk Assessment. • Plan to do as much of the work as possible at low level. • Do not work at height unless it is absolutely unavoidable. • Provide a secure platform which will: be securely footed on stable ground; support the weight of the personnel and equipment to be used; provide a stable access and will not overturn; and be secured to an existing structure, where necessary and wherever possible • Take account of the gradient of the ground, especially where mobile platforms are used. • Provide guard rails to the platform. • Provide barriers on open edges, holes and openings in the platform floor, the edges of roofs and working areas Remember that poor selection, maintenance and care of equipment are the major contributors to accidents when working at height - rather than an obvious lack of attention to good working practices. Ensure that only properly CE marked Category III approved Personal Protection Equipment is used for working at height. Be aware that equipment from some suppliers catering for climbers and rescuers may not meet these stringent, required EC standards. To work at height I need to do a risk assessment. What should I consider?
How do I know I have selected the best access system? There are many systems available, ranging from tower and general scaffold, mobile and suspended access equipment (cherry pickers), mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs), boatswain's chairs, rope and harness systems and ladders. If regular access is needed, modifications should be made to the plant structure to provide a safe working area. The choice of system will depend on the individual circumstances. In order, these are the priorities when choosing the system to be used: 1. Only when it is not practical to provide a work platform with guardrails, should other means of access (for example boatswain's chairs or rope access) be used 2. Only where no other method is practicable, or when work platforms cannot comply with all the requirements for safe work (e.g. a guardrail has to be removed to land materials) should a way of arresting falls (for example a harness and lines) be relied upon 3. A harness or nets may also be needed to protect people when putting guardrails or other protection in place 4. Ladders are a means of access, not a working platform; they should only be used as workplaces for a short time, and then only when it is safe to do so. It is generally safer to use a tower scaffold or mobile elevating work platform, even for short-term work. Remember to allow adequate clearance when equipment is used, particularly near overhead power lines: and around nearby structures when mobile equipment is being used.
Remember If the working height is greater than two metres the work cannot be done alone. Footing is not considered suitable for ladders in excess of five metres. Only one person at a time can use a ladder References: Guidance on safe working practices and the use of access equipment is available in "Health and safety, in construction" (HSG 150 ISBN 0 7176 1143 4 £7.95) "Mobile elevating platforms and the use of safety harness", (Operational Circular 314/19, from HSE InfoLine 0541 545500) "Working at heights in the broadcasting and entertainment industries", Entertainment Sheet No 6 from http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/etis6.htm Proposed EC Directive on temporary working at height These publications are available from: HSE Books, Printed and published by the Health and Safety Executive, Reproduced and distributed by the SCTA with permission from HSE The SCTA acknowledge the assistance of the Health and Safety Executive in the production of this document. For farther assistance contact; HSE Copyright Dept. |