Five questions, grounded in the Work at Height Regulations 2005, to help you choose the right access method and identify the documentation a principal contractor will expect.
This is decision support, not a replacement for a competent person's risk assessment.
Q1. Can the work realistically be done without working at height (e.g. from the ground using extending tools, or by relocating the task)?
WAHR 2005 Reg 6(2) puts avoidance first. If a long-reach pole, ground-level pre-fabrication or design change removes the need to go up, that's the legally preferred option.
Q2. Will any single person be at height for more than 30 minutes in one position?
Short-duration work changes the proportionate access choice. HSE generally accepts ladders for short, light tasks where a safer alternative isn't reasonably practicable.
Q3. Does the work involve a fragile surface (asbestos cement, fibre-cement, plastic rooflights, old slate, GRP)?
Fragile surfaces are the largest single cause of fatal falls in UK construction. HSG33 sets out specific controls — crawling boards, edge protection, perimeter scaffolds — that go beyond standard WAH.
Q4. Is there an unprotected edge, opening, or fall onto something that could cause serious injury (over ~2m, or onto rebar/spikes/water/machinery at any height)?
Reg 6(3) requires you to prevent falls. 'Serious injury' is the threshold, not a numerical height — a 1.5m fall onto exposed reinforcement is treated as high-risk.
Q5. Will the work be over or near members of the public, occupied buildings, or live traffic?
Public-protection adds duties under HASAWA s.3 and (for highways) NRSWA 1991. Exclusion zones, debris netting and hours-of-work restrictions usually apply.
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 set out a clear hierarchy: avoid working at height where you can; if you can't, prevent falls using the right work equipment or other measures; and where the risk of a fall remains, minimise the distance and consequences. The five questions above map directly onto that hierarchy — Q1 is avoidance, Q2-Q4 drive the choice between ladders, towers, MEWPs and scaffolds, and Q5 layers in the additional duties when the public is involved.
The output is a triage outcome — it tells you what a typical principal contractor will expect to see in your RAMS for that profile of work. Your competent person still has to apply judgement to the specific site, including ground conditions, weather windows, lone-working factors and rescue logistics.