A Work at Height Site Inspection Checklist for Safety Officers

Short answer: A site inspection checks collective protection first, then the suitability of the equipment, then documentation and competence, and finally rescue readiness.

An inspection carried out on a work at height site is not about collecting signatures on paper. The safety officer's job is to find the weak link in the system before an accident happens. This article explains in what order you should carry out a site inspection and what to look at in each step.

Where to start the inspection

Start the inspection not with the equipment but with the collective protection measures. That is the accepted hierarchy in controlling hazards: eliminate the hazard first, apply collective protection if that is not possible, and turn to personal protective equipment last. When you go onto site your eye should go first to systems such as guardrails, safety nets and lifelines. Do not let the fact that a worker is wearing a harness mislead you if there is no proper collective protection beneath.

There is a reason for that order: if collective protection fails it affects all the workers, while a failure of personal equipment generally affects one person. Construct the inspection report with the same logic. Assess the general architecture of the system first, then the detail of the equipment, then documentation and competence, and last of all what happens if something goes wrong — that is, the rescue. That order both speeds up the inspection and lets you report the findings in order of importance.

Safety officer's site inspection list

Has collective protection been installed: guardrails, nets, covers
If it cannot be installed, is the reason recorded in writing
Is the equipment used EN certified and marked CE plus a four-digit number
Are the periodic examinations current and recorded
Are the workers' training certificates available on site
Has the permit to work been completed and signed
Does the risk assessment cover this job
Have the anchor points been verified
Is the rescue plan in writing and the equipment ready
Is the free leg of the Y-type lanyard being parked correctly
Has the required clearance been calculated

Checking collective protection

If there is a guardrail system on site, check its height, strength and intermediate elements. Temporary edge protection systems are classified to the EN 13374 standard; ask which class the system was installed to and whether that class is suitable for the work being done. If a safety net is used, look at the label information within EN 1263, the tension of the net and the free fall distance. If there is a sharp projection or a pile of material beneath the net, always note that finding; even with a net in place, if the surface below is unsuitable the protective function is lost. When examining lifelines and fixed anchor points, ask first whether there is a design for them. Anchor devices are classified by type to the EN 795 standard and each type has a different test load and conditions of use. Verify by documentation which type the anchor point on site was installed to, who approved the installation and whether there is a structural calculation report. Never accept elements such as pipes, guardrail feet or HVAC equipment used as structural anchors; these are not tested anchor points and this is one of the most frequent serious findings in site inspections.

Checking equipment: labels, examination, suitability

A personal fall arrest system is not a single item but a whole made up of interconnected components. The EN 363 standard defines that system as a whole: the anchor connection point, the body harness (EN 361), the connecting element, the energy absorber (EN 355) or retractable fall arrester (EN 360) must be chosen to work together. Do not be content with looking at items of equipment one by one in an inspection; question whether the system as a whole has been put together in accordance with the logic of EN 363. A worker's body harness may be sound, but if the connecting element has been paired with the wrong type of energy absorber, the system as a whole is invalid. Every item must carry the manufacturer's label, serial number, date of manufacture and, where applicable, expiry date. The EN 365 standard defines the periodic examination, maintenance and marking requirements for equipment; under that standard each item must be examined at regular intervals by a competent person and that examination recorded. Withdraw from use any equipment on site with no examination record or whose label has worn away or become illegible. When you see unravelling of the stitching on a harness, a cut or abrasion on a rope or play in a carabiner's locking mechanism, remove the item from site immediately and enter it in the report. If you are not sure of the examination interval the manufacturer states, consult the manufacturer's instructions; do not speculate on this.

Worker competence and training certificates

Even if the equipment is right, the risk does not go away if the person using it is untrained. Under Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331 the employer is obliged to give personnel who will work at height the training necessary for their role and to document it. In an inspection, check every worker's work at height training certificate, its date of validity and the content of the training. Where teams doing rope access hold international certification such as IRATA, look at whether the worker's level (Level 1, 2, 3) matches the work they are doing; a Level 1 technician working alone on a job requiring a supervisor is not an acceptable situation. The existence of a training certificate is not enough — its content must also suit that site. Someone who has had general work at height training must not be assigned directly to a job requiring special techniques such as rope access or roof work. Ask whether site induction has been carried out for every worker newly arrived on site and whether that induction has been recorded. During the inspection, asking a few randomly chosen workers verbally how they would check their own equipment helps you understand whether the training on paper has actually been absorbed.

Examples of the equipment covered in this article

KONG Mouse Work 385g Work at Height and Industrial Safety Helmet 52-64 cm

KONG Mouse Work 385g Work at Height and Industrial Safety Helmet 52-64 cm

KONG Mouse Work+ NFC 405g Work at Height and Industrial Safety Helmet 52-64

Permit to work and risk assessment

There must be a written permit to work and a current risk assessment before every task at height. In the inspection, check whether that document was issued for that day, that job and that site specifically; a general template with an updated date and a signature is not acceptable. Verify by observation whether the measures defined in the risk assessment (anchor plan, rescue plan, weather restrictions, working hours) are actually being applied on site. If there is a difference between the document and the site, that must appear as a priority finding in the inspection report. Check the authority of the people signing the permit to work too: is the person approving the permit really competent in the subject, or are they merely signing because the procedure requires it? If weather limits such as wind speed, precipitation and visibility are written in the document, ask whether that measurement was taken on site that day. Look at whether site-specific hazards such as proximity to electricity lines, the risk of falling objects and other teams working nearby are reflected in the risk assessment; a generic risk assessment form may be being used to paper over the site's real hazards.

The rescue plan and equipment

When a fall arrest system comes into play the worker is left suspended in the air. At that point having a rescue plan is as important as preventing the fall; because as the period of suspension lengthens the risk of suspension trauma increases. The EN 365 standard requires emergency procedures to be defined as part of the equipment's instructions for use. In the inspection, check whether there is a written rescue plan on site and whether it clearly describes by whom and within what time it will be applied. Verify that the rescue equipment is actually present on site and that the person who will use it is trained. A plan that merely says "call the fire brigade in an emergency" is not enough; the time for the fire brigade to reach the site can be longer than the time in which suspension trauma appears. Ask whether the site team has carried out a rescue drill among themselves and when that drill was done. The descent devices and ropes used for rescue must also have had their own periodic examinations; rescue equipment must not become equipment forgotten on a shelf with its examination skipped.

The most frequently written non-conformities

There are findings that recur in site inspections, and knowing them in advance speeds up the inspection. One of the most frequent non-conformities is the anchor point being attached to an element with no engineering approval. The second is the absence of the equipment label or examination record; many businesses buy equipment but do not set up a periodic examination system. The third is workers whose training certificate has expired being employed on site; because certificate dates are not tracked, this is often missed. Besides these, edge protection systems being removed temporarily and not put back, the weather limits written in the permit to work not being monitored, and the rescue plan existing only on paper and never having been drilled are also frequent findings. Another recurring problem is several workers sharing the same anchor point in a way that exceeds the capacity limit the manufacturer states. When reporting findings of this kind it is not enough to say merely "non-conforming"; write clearly which standard or manufacturer's instruction it contravenes and by when the corrective action must be completed.

Printable inspection list

The list below summarises the items you will check in order during a site inspection. Copy the list before going on site, mark each item yes/no/not applicable and add a short note beside any finding.

Collective protection: are guardrails, safety nets and lifelines present on site and do they conform to the relevant standard?
Do the anchor points have engineering approval and a structural calculation?
Has each worker's personal fall arrest system been assembled correctly as a whole according to the logic of EN 363?
Are the equipment labels legible, with the manufacturer's information and serial number present?
Are the periodic examination records within EN 365 current?
Is there visible damage to the equipment (unravelled stitching, abrasion, corrosion, a faulty lock)?
Are the workers' work at height training certificates valid and suited to the work being done?
Has site induction been carried out and recorded?
Has the daily permit to work been issued specifically for that job and that site?
Does the risk assessment reflect the real hazards on site?
Have the weather limits (wind, precipitation, visibility) been set and checked during the day?
Is there a written rescue plan and does the site team know it?
Is the rescue equipment ready on site and is the person who will use it trained?
Has a rescue drill been carried out and is its date recorded?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is looked at in a work at height inspection?

An inspection checks, in order of priority, the collective protection measures (guardrails, barriers, safety nets), then the suitability of the personal protective equipment, the workers' documentation and competence, and finally the readiness of the rescue plan. The reason collective protection comes first is that it prevents a fall at source, before individual equipment.

Which documents must be on site?

The permit to work, the risk assessment, the periodic inspection reports for the equipment and the workers' work at height training certificates must be on site. The rescue plan and the emergency procedure must also be accessible on site.

What is the most frequent non-conformity?

The most frequent non-conformity is the incorrect use of personal fall protection equipment or the attachment point being unsuitable. That is followed by the use on site of equipment with a missing or expired periodic inspection record.

Important

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for training. Work at height equipment must be used only by trained persons and in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions for use. Legal provisions may change; verify the current text in force before applying them.