Ten things you need to know about edge protection

Edge protection solutions from SafeSite Facilities provide a temporary safety solution for elevated areas within a building site to prevent people or machinery falling.

The solid bottom section stops debris falling onto people beneath and the edge protection can withstand one tonne of lateral impact. It can be used on all working surfaces, whether sloped or flat.

In the UK the Work at Height Regulations 2005 govern the requirements for prevention of falls and the preferred solutions for this problem. These Regulations state collective passive measures such as edge protection are preferable to personal measures such as personal fall protection equipment.

Here are 10 things you need to know about edge protection:

1. Fatal falls from height account for almost a quarter of workplace deaths every year. Of the 550,000 workplace non-fatal injuries in the UK, an estimated 44,400 are falls from height. This is why edge protection is so important.
2. Roof edge protection is a structure designed to prevent falls and injuries at height. The edge protection system is placed around the perimeter of a roof so that there is less chance of people or materials falling over the edge.
3. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 state roof edge protection must have sufficient dimensions, strength and rigidity. The top guardrail needs to be at least 1100mm and the gaps between frames should not exceed 470mm.
4. The Health and Safety Executive recommends that rooftops add edge protection to provide safety at height. Companies can be served with Fee for Intervention (FFI) invoices for lack of adequate edge protection.
5. Each edge protection component can connect to another, so can span and connect across multiple levels. This means you can create a bespoke system for an individual site for high levels of protection, safety and reliability.
6. Edge protection acts as both a fence and a barrier. The solid bottom section can stop debris falling onto people beneath (like a fence), and the edge protection, when installed correctly, can withstand one tonne of lateral impact (like a barrier).
7. Edge protection can be used for branding, as barriers can be customised with company logos. It can also be powder coated in a choice of colours
8. The European Standard of Temporary Edge Protection is EN 13374. This provides exacting standards of safety and performance for edge protection systems for flat and pitched surfaces.
9. It’s important that edge protection systems are quick and easy to install to prevent workers having to spend too much time at height putting the system in place. Try and avoid welding where you can for safety reasons.
10. Edge protection is a cost effective and safe alternative to personal protection, such as lifelines and anchors, which require training.