A head for heights

A surprising amount of cleaning work involves working at height. And it’s not just the obvious tasks – like abseiling in order to clean the windows at the top of a tall building – that involve this risky type of work. Even low level access, just a couple of steps up, can fall into this category. 

But what many cleaning operatives don’t realise is just how risky working at even minimal height can be. Even a fall from as little as two metres can cause significant and potentially career-ending injuries.

For this reason, employers in the cleaning industry must ensure that where their workers are likely to be working at height, there’s a plan in place to keep them safe from harm.

What employers need to know 

Indeed, this is a legal requirement. The Health and Safety Executive’s Work at Height Regulations 2005 mean that employers, self-employed cleaners and anyone who controls the work of others who may need to work at height (such as facilities managers or the owners of buildings) are ‘duty holders’. In the vernacular, this means that the buck stops with them and it is their duty to ensure all work is carried out safely. 

In practice, this means ensuring that all work at height is properly planned, those working at height are well-trained, that all work undertaken is risk-assessed with appropriate mitigating steps taken and that all equipment used for working at height is well-maintained. 

Additionally, duty holders are expected to follow the planning hierarchy for working at height. This is: Avoid it where possible (e.g. by the use of telescopic poles for window cleaning), use work equipment that can eliminate the risk of a fall (like Mobile Elevated Work Platforms or MEWPS) and, where that isn’t possible, take measures to minimise the likely distance and consequences of a fall should one occur (such as fall arrest harnesses). 

Common breaches 

There are a number of common breaches frequently seen in the cleaning industry and they normally boil down to not using appropriate equipment and poor training, or a combination of the two. Using inappropriate objects – such as tables and chairs – as makeshift ‘platforms’ falls into the former category. Using the right equipment – such as a ladder or podium – but negating its usefulness by over-stretching or not positioning it properly – falls into the latter. Luckily these elements can – and should – be easily managed by employers. 

Selecting kit 

There’s a wealth of equipment available to support working at height. Ladders are a safe, sensible option for a lot of domestic cleaning work and can be made much safer with the addition of an anti-slip ladder device, which prevents the bottom of the ladder moving while work is taking place. Combi ladders can also be used while working at height in difficult-to-clean areas such as stair cases. 

For industrial cleaning, window cleaning or reaching features such as light fixtures in atriums an aerial platform - which can have working heights of up to six metres and can be used both indoors and outdoors - can be purchased or hired to enable operatives to complete the job safely. There are also new innovations to consider, such as purpose built podiums with tool storage combined, which can offer some of the best low level solutions around.

Training 

While the right equipment can eliminate much of the risk of working at height, it is useless unless operatives have undergone the right training. Workers who regularly use powered access equipment, for example, should attend a course accredited by the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) while those who use towers should attend one accredited by the Prefabricated Access Suppliers’ & Manufacturers’ Association (PASMA). Given that safe ladder use also relies heavily on the right technique, employers would be well-advised to book their employees on a basic ladder and stepladder course through an organisation like The Ladder Association.