Working at height rescue plans

The hierarchy comes first

Before rescue, exhaust the hierarchy in regulation 6. Avoid work at height where reasonably practicable. Where it cannot be avoided, prevent falls using an existing safe place of work or collective protection such as guardrails, scaffolds or mobile elevating work platforms. Where the risk cannot be eliminated, minimise the distance and consequences of a fall using collective measures such as nets or airbags before personal fall arrest.

Every step up that ladder of preference reduces the rescue problem. A crew working from a properly guarded platform has no suspension scenario to plan for. Rescue planning is the price of choosing personal fall arrest, and that cost should be part of the decision.

Where the access is scaffold, keep the scaffold inspection records with the rescue plan so both are found together.

Suspension trauma and the time limits

A person hanging motionless in a harness suffers orthostatic intolerance: blood pools in the legs, cardiac output falls and consciousness can be lost. Symptoms can begin within a few minutes, and unconsciousness in a suspended casualty is life threatening. Published guidance commonly works to a target of rescue within fifteen minutes, and much faster where the casualty is unconscious or injured.

Suspension relief straps that let a casualty take weight off the leg loops buy time and are cheap. They are not a substitute for a rescue capability.

Suspension trauma changes what your first aid needs assessment has to provide for.

What the plan must cover

A rescue plan is short and specific to the location and the method being used.

• The rescue method for each place a fall could occur, including anchor points and clearance below.
• The equipment required, where it is kept and who checks it.
• Who performs the rescue, with names or roles on the day, and their training.
• How the alarm is raised and who calls the emergency services in parallel.
• How the casualty is brought to a place where first aid can be given, and what first aid is needed.
• How the site is managed during the rescue, including stopping other work and clearing access.
• The maximum time the plan is expected to take, tested rather than assumed.

Responsibility for the rescue arrangements follows the roles in the CDM 2015 duty holders explained.

Common rescue methods

Self rescue is the fastest where the casualty is uninjured and can reach a structure or use a work positioning system to regain a platform. Assisted rescue using a rescue kit with a haul or lower system is the standard on rope access and steelwork. A mobile elevating work platform parked ready to lift is often the simplest and most reliable method on construction sites when the ground allows.

Whichever is chosen, clearance below matters. A fall arrest system that stops a casualty two metres above a floor is easy to reach. One that leaves them suspended in a lift shaft is not.

Training, equipment and practice

Rescuers need training in the specific kit on site, refreshed regularly. Rescue kits must be inspected as personal fall protection equipment: pre use checks by the user and a thorough examination by a competent person at least every six months, with records under regulation 12.

Practise. A drill on the actual structure, timed, is the only way to know whether the plan works. Most first drills overrun badly and reveal the same problems: the kit was locked in a container, the trained rescuer was on another site, and nobody had agreed who calls the ambulance.

After a fall

Treat any arrested fall as a serious event even where the person appears unhurt. Get medical assessment, because internal injury and delayed effects are possible. Quarantine the harness, lanyard and any energy absorber; they are single use after arresting a fall and are also evidence.

A fall arrested by equipment is normally reportable to the HSE if it results in a specified injury or over seven day incapacity, and the failure of any load bearing part of the system can be a dangerous occurrence in its own right. Investigate why the fall happened rather than only whether the rescue worked.

Common questions

Can we rely on the fire brigade for rescue at height?

No. The emergency services are a backup. Typical response times exceed the safe suspension window, and they may not be equipped for your structure.

Is a rescue plan needed if we only use guardrails?

A specific suspension rescue plan is not needed if nobody can be left suspended, but the general emergency arrangements for the site still apply.

How often should rescue drills be run?

There is no set interval. At least annually, and on each new project where the structure or method differs materially.

Related guides

• scaffold inspection records
• first aid needs assessment
• the CDM 2015 duty holders explained