Falls from height are the single biggest cause of fatalities for workers across all industries. One of the major uncontrollable risks of working at height is working in poor weather conditions, a prime condition being high winds. The new ATLAS guidance document has been developed to minimise risks associated with working in windy weather conditions by educating the reader in wind behaviours, and better enabling them to assess when work is safe to proceed.
With reference to the requirements of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, the guidance aims to assist with understanding wind and its behaviour, provide an on-site point of work risk assessment and advise on what tools can be used for recording and measuring wind. The note refers to several published documents on the risks of working at height, but one of the key objectives of the document is to provide simple guidance which does not overload the reader.
When planning any project involving work at height, clients should consult the new guide in conjunction with other relevant standards and guidance. ATLAS is committed to encouraging best practice by providing up to date information to its members and the wider industry.
ATLAS Honorary Life Vice President, Mike Fuller, said: "It is vital that those working at height are equipped with up-to-date, technical guidance to ensure the correct safety measures are in place to minimise risks. However, it is also important that the published guidance notes are coherent and simple to understand. The core principal of this document was to simplify and compile existing guidance on working at height in wind to enable operatives to assess their working conditions accurately."
The link to the document is here: https://atlas.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Wind-Guidance-Note-for-Working-at-Height-Final.pdf