Practical guidance for working safely at height
Generic permits-to-work too often authorise activity without recording the decisions that make it safe. This article sets out how UK facilities teams can design a work-at-height permit that is equipment-specific, location-aware and credible under audit.
On listed and conservation-area buildings, the structure itself becomes the access constraint. This guide sets out how facilities teams and contractors can plan powered access around historic fabric, uncertain ground and consent requirements while keeping the reasoning defensible.
Urban powered-access jobs rarely produce a single reliable wind reading: forecasts, street-level instruments and platform-height exposure can tell different stories. This article sets out a practical stop-go framework and a contemporaneous decision record that helps facilities teams and contractors justify why work continued, paused or stood down.
Ladders remain the most-used and least-explained access tool on UK sites. This article sets out a practical reasoning trail — four test questions, selection evidence, positioning records and a one-page assessment — that shows a ladder was a considered choice rather than a default. It is not an argument for banning ladders, but for evidencing why the alternative was genuinely worse.
Overhead lines across service yards are rarely a surprise, but the control often is. This article sets out how facilities teams can plan boom and scissor lift work around 11kV lines, consult the network owner early and leave subcontractors with a recorded clearance decision rather than an unverified measurement.
Stability incidents involving MEWPs often begin beneath the machine, not in the basket. This pre-deployment guide sets out how to assess load-bearing capacity, hidden voids, slopes and weather-softened ground, and how to record the survey as part of the handover.
Barrier tape and a warning sign are not a dropped-object control; they are a prompt. This article explains how to calculate realistic exclusion zones, brief and enforce them, and audit the arrangements on occupied and public-facing UK sites.
Battery-electric powered access can cut emissions and noise, but only if charging is planned as seriously as the lift itself. This guide sets out load checks, charging windows, temporary supply options and battery care for UK sites with limited electrical capacity.
A retail frontage compresses every hazard of access work into a few metres of pavement. This practical guide sets out how to plan MEWP set-up, exclusion zones and timed works so that trading, deliveries and public movement carry on around you without anyone walking into the risk.
Manufacturer familiarisation tells an operator how the machine works. It says nothing about this ground, this exclusion zone or this rescue arrangement. Here is the case for a short, repeatable supervisor briefing before the first ascent of every shift, and the words to deliver it.
Light industrial units often treat roof access as an occasional exception, yet maintenance tasks arrive with little warning and improvised access becomes normal. A proportionate plan for fragile surfaces, hidden voids and short-duration work is essential.
A competitive day rate can conceal contractual obligations that fall to the hirer long before the first machine leaves the depot. This checklist helps facilities managers compare powered access hire terms on inspection, breakdown cover, familiarisation and end-of-hire condition, not price alone.
Most scaffold problems are visible before the first operative climbs the standard, yet handovers are often treated as a signature rather than an inspection. This facilities manager's pre-load checklist covers design documentation, TG20 compliance, edge protection, ties, loading bays and emergency arrangements, with practical ways to challenge incomplete handovers without derailing the programme.
Fall arrest harnesses, lanyards and rescue kits are often stored in damp plant rooms or shared cabinets where inspection tags go missing and condition is assumed rather than verified. This practical guide sets out a storage, pre-use and periodic inspection regime that facilities managers can apply before anyone clips on.
Ageing MEWPs can look cheap on the balance sheet while quietly consuming budget through downtime, parts and compliance risk. This seven-point audit framework helps UK contractors and facilities managers decide whether to repair, replace or retire access equipment in 2026.
Fall prevention dominates most work-at-height plans, yet rescue after a fall is a separate legal and practical duty. This article sets out how UK facilities managers can test their rescue arrangements, from equipment compatibility to scenario-based training, and avoid the assumptions that leave sites exposed.
Scaffolding, MEWPs and mast climbing work platforms each solve a different access problem, and the cheapest headline rate is rarely the whole cost. This guide sets out a decision framework for UK contractors balancing safety, programme and compliance. It covers ground conditions, training and inspection at the selection stage.
Winter conditions alter the risk profile of every access task, from pre-use inspection to emergency retrieval. This framework helps UK facilities managers and contractors test their arrangements before cold weather exposes gaps. It focuses on practical controls, clear stop rules and equipment choices that suit short daylight and low temperatures.