construction high risk activities

·        What is high risk construction work?

·        Regulation 291: High risk construction work is defined as construction work that:

·                  involves a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres, for example installing an evaporative cooler on the roof of a double-storey building.

·                  is carried out on a telecommunication tower, for example installing equipment on
a telecommunications tower

·                  involves demolition of an element of a structure that is load-bearing or otherwise related
to the physical integrity of the structure, for example knocking down load-bearing walls as part of a warehouse conversion.

·                  involves, or is likely to involve, the disturbance of asbestos, for example removing floor tiles containing asbestos as part of a building refurbishment or cutting or drilling into an asbestos cement sheet wall

·                  involves structural alterations or repairs that require temporary support to prevent collapse, for example using props to support a ceiling where a load-bearing wall will be removed

·                  is carried out in or near a confined space

·                  is carried out in or near a shaft or trench with an excavated depth greater than 1.5 metres or is carried out in or near a tunnel, for example laying or repairing pipes and conduits in
a 2-metre trench, testing drainage pipes in a 2-metre trench, building a tunnel in the course of constructing an underground railway or road

·                  involves the use of explosives, for example blasting in preparation for the construction of
a building or road, breaking up rock during construction of foundations

·                  is carried out on or near:

·        pressurised gas distribution mains or piping

·        chemical, fuel or refrigerant lines

·        energised electrical installations or services

·        ‘Near’ in the above circumstances means close enough that there is a risk of hitting or puncturing the mains, piping, electrical installation or service. High-risk construction work
is not limited to electrical safety ‘no-go zones’. Electrical installations do not include power leads and electrically powered tools. Some examples of high-risk construction work include working near overhead or underground power lines and construction work that involves drilling into a wall where live electrical wiring may be present.

·       

·                  is carried out in an area that may have a contaminated or flammable atmosphere,
for example demolishing a petrol station and removing old tanks, decommissioning plant and removing pipework that may contain residue of hazardous chemicals

·                  involves tilt-up or precast concrete, for example building a factory using tilt-up panels
or installing a precast drainage pit

·                  is carried out on, in or adjacent to a road, railway, shipping lane or other traffic corridor that is in use by traffic other than pedestrians, for example building an additional lane on a road or installing drainage that involves digging up part of the road

·                  is carried out in an area at a workplace in which there is any movement of powered mobile plant, for example working in an area of a construction site that is not isolated from the movement of skid steer loaders, telehandlers, backhoes, mobile cranes or trucks

·                  is carried out in an area in which there are artificial extremes of temperature, for example construction work in an operating cool room or freezer or construction work alongside an operating boiler

·                  is carried out in or near water or other liquid that involves a risk of drowning, for example constructing a bridge over a river or restoring a wharf, or

·                  involves diving work, for example divers undertaking structural repairs to jetties, piers
or marinas.