Permanent and temporary roof edge protection systems and their many regulations can be confusing. Understanding what standards they must meet to satisfy workplace health, safety and welfare, when these systems are necessary, and how to remain compliant is important, but incredibly confusing.
Today we’ve put together a post to help you navigate those regulations in the best way possible. And if you’re looking for a new edge protection installation – permanent or temporary – or you simply want to have them inspected and maintained, our team at Altus Safety can help.
With our years of experience and expert knowledge, you won’t have to worry about learning more than just the basics of edge protection regulations. Contact our team today to find out more about our edge protection services.
What is Edge Protection?
Edge protection must be installed wherever there is a risk of fall for individuals who are working at height. Commonly, edge protection systems will be installed on roofs, but can be installed anywhere that there’s a risk of an individual falling from one level to another which is likely to cause personal injury such as at plants.
As a business owner, site manager, or someone in charge of the health and safety of workers or contractors, it’s your job to ensure that the right systems are in place to protect those working at height. You are, what the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) would call, the Duty Holder.
Now, as someone who holds that duty, it’s important that you understand the regulations and standards those systems must meet, or else you could fall short of the duty you hold. Before that though, let’s get to grips with what edge protection systems are available.
Edge Protection Systems UK
| Freestanding Guardrails | Freestanding guardrails are a temporary edge protection system designed to secure an area of a site or building without fixing to the roof surface, making it an excellent choice for those with more delicate roofs. |
| Collapsible Guardrails | A collapsible guardrail is designed to collapse down when not in use. If your building has a particular aesthetic appeal, then being able to collapse the guardrail when the system is not in use is a great advantage. |
| Fixed Guardrails | Fixed guardrails are a permanent solution, fixed in place to provide year-round protection. Perfect for those sites and buildings that require regular roof maintenance or work at height related tasks to be completed. |
What Are The Regulations In The UK For Temporary & Permanent Edge Protection Systems?
There are actually upwards of 10 specific regulations and British Standards that relate to edge protection systems in the UK. They cover a range of different factors from their design, installation and maintenance, but you don’t necessarily need to be clued up on them all as the person purchasing a permanent or temporary edge protection system. There are certain ones, however, you’ll need to know:
- Building Regulations Part K (Protection from falling) – 2013
- BS EN 13374 – 2013
- EN 14122-3 – 2010
- Work at Height Regulations – 2005
- BS 13700 – 2022
We’ll break down each of these in greater detail below.
Building Regulations Part K
The Building Regulations Part K (2013) makes clear that edge protection must be provided in the following circumstances:
- Where any ramps, floors, stairs, balconies, or roof (that people have access to) is in use.
- Around any basement or sunken area connected to a building when accessible to others.
It also states that guarding, such as edge protection systems in the form of guardrails, ought to consist of at least two horizontal rails and be at least 1100mm high to provide proper protection.
When it comes to Building Regulations Part K, you need to make sure proper protection is in place in the right area. Then it’s our job to design and install that protection to exact specifications.
BS EN 13374 Temporary Edge Protection Systems – Product Specification, Test Methods
This regulation focuses mostly on the design of edge protection systems but also ensures that those designs can withstand loads applied perpendicular to the safety rails, vertically or horizontally. This could be a uniformly distributed load or a dynamic load such as appropriate wind loading criteria depending on the requirements.
The standard also differentiates between different classes of edge protection system based on roof pitch:
- Class A 0-10° roof pitch
- Class B 10-30° roof pitch
- Class C 30-45° roof pitch
Classes A, B and C have static load requirements or point load requirements, but only classes B and C have a dynamic load applied representing what would happen if someone or something fell down the roof at the designated pitch towards the rail. A wind loading assessment might also be necessary.
Essentially this regulation is important to system designers, because the guardrail has to withstand a load similar to that of a worker (or multiple workers) falling against it in an accident to prevent a greater fall.
EN 14122-3 Safety of machinery. Permanent means of access to machinery, stairways, stepladders and guardrails.
EN 14122-3 is applied only to guardrails that are surrounding machinery, stairways, stepladders and guardrails but NOT roofs. It doesn’t cover pitched load requirements or wet vs dry conditions and other regulations do, so its main purpose is ensuring guardrails on level surfaces are up to scratch.
It doesn’t cover roof membrane or toe-board requirements either.
This regulation only really needs to be followed by system designers again, but it’s important that you understand that it isn’t related to roofs, so you can check that your system is fully compliant if the guardrail is positioned around plant machinery, for example.
Work At Height Regulations
The Work at Height regulations were first introduced in 2005 as a way to make clear that for those that have responsibility for the safety of others working at height sufficient safety solutions has to be implemented. This includes preventing both people and objects from falling from a height.
A risk assessment is first necessary and then a suitable solution must be found and installed. Often guardrails are the answer.
With regards to permanent systems, the regulations state that they must be suitable and sufficient, whilst also being fully compliant with the 1100mm height standard set out in Building Regulations Part K.
As for temporary edge protection, in Schedule 2 of the regulations: Construction Work (Temporary provisions of protection), it states that the top guardrail must be at least 950mm high (not the 1100mm stated in Part K of the Building Regulations). It also says that toe boards must be installed to prevent a fall from any person or object and that the middle guardrail should be positioned so that no gap exceeds 470mm.
Again, this is important to know if you design and install safety systems like our team at Altus Safety. But it’s also important for site owners and those who hold a duty of care towards workers to know, so you can be confident in the system that’s in place to offer increased safety.
BS 13700
One other key regulation to consider is BS 13700: 2021 which first came into force across the at height industries in 2022. This regulation looks specifically at freestanding guardrail systems, and it talks about the requirements they must meet from a range of perspectives, including:
- For manufacturers
- Designers
- Duty holders
- And inspection professionals
We take a more in depth look at this regulation in our guide to BS 13700, but the short of it is that the regulation was introduced to provide clarity around each person’s role in the design, installation and regular maintenance of freestanding guardrail systems with counterbalances to protect workers whilst working at height. It was the first to deal with permanent freestanding guardrail systems, before this, guidance was taken from temporary edge protection system regulations, but these never quite fit the bill.
The new standard, however makes a few things abundantly clear surrounding permanent freestanding guardrails:
- The testing methods and manufacturing milestones required for manufacturers to ensure maximum protection
- How recertification works for the system and how often – every 12 months
- How wind calculation speeds ought to be calculated and applied to each system
We ensure all of our freestanding guardrails are designed and installed to meet BS 13700 requirements and all of our annual testing does too. Work with our team for your freestanding guardrails and we’ll ensure you remain fully compliant.
What Responsibilities Do You Have As A Duty Holder?
We’ve spoken a fair bit today about your role as a duty holder, but what does it mean?
Essentially, the Health and Safety Executive sees you as the duty holder if you’re responsible for worker safety whilst working at height. And the HSE sees it as your responsibility to ensure the proper safety systems are in place to protect those workers.
That means you need to have the right edge protection system installed and maintained. Failure to do so could lead to criminal proceedings.
What’s Our Role At Altus Safety?
It’s our job at Altus Safety to help you get those safety systems installed. As work at height safety specialists, we design, install and maintain a full range of systems, including both permanent and temporary edge protection in the form of guardrails.
We make sure you remain fully compliant with the latest regulations so you can have full confidence in the systems you put in place to protect your workers. And with a 100% height safe record, you know you’re trusting the right height safety specialists to help you.
Permanent & Temporary Edge Protection Regulations UK: Final Thoughts
The world of permanent and temporary edge protection regulations is a complex one if you’re new to it. But here at Altus Safety we’ve over 3 decades experience in helping customers just like you navigate those regulations in the safest way possible. We know them like the back of our hand and design, install and maintain safety systems that are fully compliant with all relevant standards and regulations.
If you need our support, contact us today.