CORPORATE
STANDARDS
Working at Heights and
Fall Protection Regulations
around the World
Engage with Peers
on Corporate Standards
Enhesa strives to provide our clients with current
EHS content from around the world. However,
how our clients process that information and
incorporate it into their own corporate procedures
varies drastically. Much like the phrase “there
is more than one way to skin a cat,” there are
multiple methods to establish procedures that
follow a particular regulation. For example, how
one company reports accidents and illness
may vary significantly from another company,
despite the fact they are both following the same
regulation.
To remedy the array of differences among
companies in regards to developed procedures,
Enhesa has created the Corporate Standards
Enhesa Flash October/November 2014 | www.enhesa.com
Forum. Within this gathering of EHS experts,
members share standards, best practices,
questions, challenges, and experiences on EHS
subjects that affect their companies around the
world.
The strength of the Corporate Standards Forum
rests in the engagement of its members. We
believe that you would not only benefit but also
be able to contribute valuable knowledge and
experience to our upcoming trial. Enhesa is
currently offering a free trial forum.
We would like to offer you the opportunity to
both benefit and contribute to this month’s topic
“Working at Heights.”
Below, we have developed background information
regarding rules and regulations that will serve as the
foundation of our discussion on “Working at Heights.”
Working at Heights
and Fall Protection
Regulations around
the World
Policies regarding working at heights
and fall protection are vital to a country’s
Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS)
regulations due to the dangers associated
with work that requires this type of risk. Most
governments have implemented some kind
of regulation to be followed by employers that
defines or specifies requirements regarding
working at heights. While interpretations of
working at heights and fall protection regulations
vary widely around the world, many similarities
are also evident. Some countries provide only
the most basic guidelines, and others lay out
specific regulations that must be followed. The
United States, for example, lays out the most
basic regulations in its policy, probably due to
states’ interpretations of the law, while the United
Kingdom additionally specifies the training and
supervision requirements for its facilities that
require working at heights.
The United States Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) Walking-Working Surfaces
standard contains requirements for fall protection
from floor and wall openings and holes. Employers
must ensure that proper actions have been taken
to provide for fall protection from floor and wall
openings and holes. These include:
• floor and wall openings are properly guarded;
• industrial stairs, fixed industrial ladders,
portable ladders, and scaffolds meet applicable
design requirements;
• portable ladders are inspected on a periodic
basis and removed from service if defective for
repair or destruction;
• training is provided on fall hazards and the use
of fall protection devices;
• open pits, tanks, vats, etc., are covered and/or
protected with guardrails;
• stairs, ramps and curb ramps are properly
constructed and designed;
• floor openings are adequately guarded by a
railing and toe board or equivalent;
• wa