Edge protection

Guardrails, toe boards and the collective fall prevention hierarchy

Collective fall prevention at an open edge: a guardrail at least 950 mm high, an intermediate rail or infill leaving no gap over 470 mm, and a toe board, preferred over any individual protection.

The Work at Height Regulations put collective fall prevention (guardrails, barriers, working platforms) ahead of personal protection, and Schedule 2 sets the minimum for guardrails at construction work: a top rail at least 950 mm above the edge, no gap between rails, toe board or surface greater than 470 mm, and a toe board sufficient to stop materials and people rolling off. Edge protection goes on flat roofs, slab edges, stair wells, lift shafts, floor openings, excavations and loading bays, before anyone works near the edge and for as long as the edge exists. Proprietary systems, scaffold-tube handrails and fixed steel barriers all qualify if they meet the dimensions and are strong enough (BS EN 13374 classes for roof edge protection).

It is removed only for the time an operation genuinely requires (landing a load), with alternative protection (restraint harnesses) for the people exposed and the person who removed it responsible for putting it back. Floor openings get fixed covers marked "hole below" or guardrails. The commonest breaches are edge protection that stops short of the edge in use, temporary removals that become permanent, and stairwells protected on three sides.

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