Working at height equipment selector

Pick the safest access method for short tasks, repeated work, roof edges, fragile surfaces, and material handling before the job reaches site.

Start with the hierarchy

Work at height means any work where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. The Work at Height Regulations require planning, suitable equipment, and priority for collective protection where it is reasonably practicable.

Avoid

Do the task from ground level, pre-assemble at ground level, or move the work to a safer location.

Prevent

Use collective protection such as scaffold, guardrails, tower platforms, or MEWPs. A MEWP is a mobile elevating work platform.

Minimise

Use fall arrest or other controls only where the fall risk cannot be prevented. Rescue planning then becomes part of the method.

Select the access method

Choose the work pattern. The result highlights the matching equipment card and the checks to complete before work starts.

Task duration

HSE ladder guidance uses 30 minutes at a time as a short-duration guide. Medium and long categories are Rospower planning prompts, not legal thresholds.

Task type

Access position

Ground and interface

Likely equipment

Ladder or stepladder only if the risk is low

A ladder can be suitable for a short, light, low-risk task where the worker can maintain three points of contact.

Checks to make

Equipment cards

The highlighted card is the selector output. Use the notes to challenge whether the task can be avoided, made collective, or simplified.

Avoid work at height

Use first where possible. Move assembly, inspection, or measurement to ground level before choosing access equipment.

• Pre-assemble brackets, ducts, frames, or signs before lifting.
• Use extendable tools or remote inspection where the output is still reliable.
• Design out roof access for routine maintenance where possible.

Ladder or stepladder

Use only for low-risk, short-duration work after safer options have been considered. HSE notes that short duration is not a justification where the risk is not low.

• Maintain three points of contact where practicable.
• Do not use where heavy materials, side loading, or two-handed force is needed.
• Inspect condition, angle, footing, tie-in, and surface before use.

Podium, platform steps, or tower

Better for repeated light work, two-handed tasks, or work needing a small platform. A tower should be erected by someone trained for that system.

• Check manufacturer instructions, guardrails, toe boards, outriggers, and ground bearing.
• Prevent moving the tower while occupied.
• Segregate from plant routes and public areas.

MEWP

Useful where the ground can support the machine and the work moves across elevations. MEWP selection must account for reach, rescue, crushing risk, and ground conditions.

• Confirm trained operator, rescue plan, exclusion zone, and overhead hazards.
• Check slabs, service covers, soft ground, slopes, and underground voids before setup.
• Plan pedestrian and vehicle segregation around the work zone.

Scaffold or edge protection

Usually the right route for longer duration elevation work, open edges, facade work, repeated access, or work where tools and materials need a stable platform.

• Confirm design, handover, inspection regime, ties, loading bays, and access points.
• Use guardrails, toe boards, brick guards, and debris controls where needed.
• Keep scaffold changes under competent control.

Roof and fragile surface controls

Treat rooflights, asbestos cement, liner panels, and deteriorated sheets as fragile unless proved otherwise. Fragile surfaces need prevention, not just warning signs.

• Use edge protection, staging, crawling boards, covers, netting, or a designed access system.
• Mark and physically protect fragile zones before access.
• Include rescue arrangements where fall arrest is used.

Pre-start checklist

0 / 9 checked

Use this before equipment is delivered or hired. The safest answer may be to change the method, not to upgrade the harness.

Task checked against the avoid, prevent, minimise hierarchy. Ground, slab, covers, buried services, traffic, and public interface checked. Equipment is suitable for the task, location, duration, and materials. People using or erecting the equipment are trained and supervised. Edge protection, guardrails, toe boards, or exclusion zones are specified where needed. Weather, wind, poor light, and surface contamination have been considered. Inspection, handover, tagging, and defect reporting arrangements are clear. Fragile surfaces are identified and physically protected before access. Rescue arrangements are written down where fall arrest, MEWP use, or roof access makes rescue non-routine.

Tick each item as you confirm it.

Sources

HSE INDG401 working at height brief guide - practical guide to the regulations
HSE when and how to use ladders safely - low-risk, short-duration ladder guidance
HSE scaffold checklist - scaffold controls and inspection prompts
HSE roof work guidance - fragile surface and roof edge controls
Work at Height Regulations 2005 - legislation text

Related resources

Site safety induction checklist CDM 2015 dutyholder identifier PPE compliance quick reference Our services