HSE has issued Safety Alert CON1 2018 entitled Preventing unauthorised access onto scaffolding and other work platforms regarding the prevention of unauthorised access onto scaffolding or other work platforms.
Falls from height from scaffolding or incomplete buildings following unauthorised access by the public frequently involve children and result in major and sometimes fatal injuries.
HSE stress that all access routes may need to be secured by a combination of perimeter fencing, local fencing and ladder removal out of working hours, or securing ladders using a suitable ladder guard to make them unclimbable (see image below).
HSE stress that the Safety Alert is
“not aimed at preventing all urban adventurers, determined trespassers, vandals or opportunistic thieves from finding a way onto a construction site.”
It sets out the basic measures that must be taken, many of which will also provide a degree of deterrence against those more able and determined to enter the site/area.
Actions required
The Safety Alert sets out the actions required under the following headings: Site Assessment; Site Perimeter Fencing; Local Fencing to Vulnerable areas on the Scaffold; Ladder Removal; Ladder Guards and Other Controls e.g. CCTV
HSE conclude that the site risk assessment should be kept under review and reports of damage to site or local fencing or trespassing out of working hours should be investigated and security measures reviewed as a matter of urgency.
