New British Standard for the Delivery of
Training
BS 8454:2006
Code of Practice for the Delivery of Training & Education
for Work at Height & Rescue
This British Standard - prepared by BSI Technical Committee PH/5,
Industrial safety belts and harnesses – has been published
and came into effect on 31 May 2006.
Falls from a height are one of the largest causes of death and
injury in the workplace. There is therefore an increasing demand
for people to receive training for work at height. This demand is
driven partly by legislation, as the Work at Height Regulations
2005 (Regulation 5) explicitly require anyone working at height
to be competent, and partly by an increasing trend within industry
for a professional approach to be taken to work activities which
are potentially dangerous.
There are many national, European and international standards which
specify systems and equipment for work at height, and codes of practice
for the use of such systems and equipment in the workplace.
The standard gives recommendations and guidance on the delivery
of training and education for work at height, including rescue,
and is applicable to training for work which falls within the scope
of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
The standard is:
• applicable to training for work at height in an industrial
context, including work at height in factories and in the construction,
civil engineering and cleaning sectors.
• intended for use by all organizations and individuals providing
such training and/or education, including organizations which provide
such training to their own employees.
• applicable to all locations where such training is provided,
whether at a dedicated training facility or at other training sites.
• intended to apply to course-based training and education.
• intended to apply to course-based training and education.
(It is not intended to apply to the provision by an employer of
ongoing experience-based training and education in the workplace,
where the subject matter of the training being provided is the job
itself, e.g. as provided by an apprenticeship. However, employers
providing such training would probably benefit from the advice given
as many of the principles do apply and offer good practice.)
The standard does not give recommendations on course content. The
Advisory Committee on Work at Height Training (ACWAHT)
has published a Work
at Height Awareness Syllabus, which gives basic information
on safe working practices for work at height that it recommends
should be covered in training courses. I commend the use of the
guidance and recommendations in BS 8454: 2006 to all those who deliver
training for work at height and rescue.
David Thomas
HM Principal Specialist Inspector of Health and Safety
Construction Division Technology Unit (CDTU)
Health and Safety Executive
(HSE), UK
Technical Adviser to HSE’s Falls Programme
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