These links are primarily from the Health & Safety Executive's (HSE) website brought together on one page for your convenience.
Industrial rope access - Investigation into items of personal protective equipment
Research on behalf of the HSE into items of equipment used in rope access and arboriculture. It includes tests and evaluations of ropes and associated items.
Click here to download this report (2Mb)
Suspension Trauma - Latest 2009 guidance from
Information from the HSE giving authorative guidance on suspension trauma
Click here to download this report (1mb)
Harness suspension: review and evaluation of existing information
Suspension Trauma is very much a part of today’s work at height risk assessment and rescue consideration. This report gathers and gives detailed information on the effects of suspension trauma and types of harness and attachment points.
Click here to download this report (1Mb)
Survivable Impact Forces on human body: Constrained by full body harness
Can the risk of leg and ankle injury to workers constructing and cladding of 'low roofs' be reduced? Workers often secure their harness lanyard to an anchor at 'foot level'. If they fall, the lanyard length plus energy absorber extension and the height from harness attachment to the worker's feet can exceed the height from the anchor to the floor. Their feet may hit the ground whilst the energy absorber is still deploying.
Reduction of the fall-arrest distance may reduce the potential for these injuries, but this cannot be achieved without increasing arrest forces on the body.
Click here to download this report (2Mb)
Analysis and evaluation of different types of test surrogate employed in the dynamic performance testing of fall-arrest equipment
Drop testing simulates an arrested fall by using a test surrogate in place of a human being, and plays a central part in the assessment of fall arrest equipment design.
Different types of test surrogate have been used for different reasons, and these have evolved in response to testing philosophy and experiences. Are the results representative, and if so, to what degree? And does one type of test surrogate produce more representative results than the other?
Click here to download this report (2.73Mb)
Preliminary investigation into the fall-arresting effectiveness of ladder safety hoops
Ladder safety hoops on fixed access ladders give the impression that the purpose of ladder hoops protect workers from falling to the ground or other platform. Uncertainties have been raised as to whether safety hoops can provide any form of fall-arresting capability.
Click here to download this report (4.58Mb)
Revision of body size criteria in standards - Protecting people who work at height
Does size matter? This report details the research employed to ascertain anthropometric data of the working at height population, in order to accurately establish whether the dimensions and requirements of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) test apparatus needs reviewing.
Click here to download this report (3Mb)
Ergonomics evaluation into the safety of stepladders
Phase 1: Literature and standards review
Summarises the current state of publications, literature, standards and regulations affecting the safety of stepladders, particularly where intended for, or used in, the UK market.
Click here to download phase 1 report (2.5Mb)
Phase 2: User profile and dynamic testing
Summarises the project work undertaken as the second phase of a study to evaluate the stability of stepladders, particularly where intended for, or used in, the UK market.
Click here to download phase 2 report (5.3Mb)
Developing a prototype decision aid for determining the risk of work systems at height when using temporary access systems
Access to height has associated risks of falls of people and objects that can arise due to structural and procedural inadequacies. Previous research suggests that the basic risks are not sufficiently controlled across industry, and that the injury rate in work requiring access to height is disproportionately high.
Click here to download this report (1.5Mb)
Recidivist risk takers who work at height
Why do individuals take risks when working at height? Some people have a higher sensation-seeking tendency and, hence, risk taking propensity.
The research identifies a range of interventions aimed at reducing risk taking behaviour and the obstacles to implementing these techniques.
Click here to download this report (2Mb)
Falls from height - Prevention and risk control effectiveness
This report describes a pan-industry study into the underlying influences on, and control of, falls from height. The falls accidents reported via RIDDOR have been analysed for the last five years.
Click here to download this report (2.4Mb)
New perspectives on falls from height – Identifying high profile areas for intervention
This report describes a pan-industry study into the risks associated with, and underlying causes, of falls from height.
The falls data set contains 91,000 accidents reported under RIDDOR between 1996/97 and 2002/03. Around 54,000 of these are low-level falls, 18,000 are high-level falls, and the rest are unclassified.
Click here to download this report (2.04Mb)
A review of criteria concerning design, selection, installation, use, maintenance and training aspects of temporarily-installed horizontal lifelines
This research provides a greater understanding into how these are designed, how they work, and how they are controlled. This includes: selection, installation, use and maintenance; recommendations for those organisations that fabricate and install their own designs; recommendations for training; and information that could be put into HSE guidance.
Click here to download this report (1.1Mb)
Evaluating the performance and effectiveness of ladder stability devices
The background, methodology and findings of an extensive investigation into the performance of leaning ladder stability and manual ladder footing.
Click here to download this report (3Mb)
Click here to download the technical annex (560kb)
Evaluating the stability requirements for mounting and dismounting from the top of leaning ladders
This report evaluates ladder use and the demands placed on the ladder when used for access. This method of use is commonly found amongst certain trades such as window cleaning or roofing and places unique challenges to the stability of the ladder. In combination with previous work this report aims to provide a reliable means for determining safe equipment as well as assisting in the development of new and improved access devices.
Click here to download this report (753kb)
Evaluation of the impact of the work at height regulations and the removal of the 'two metre rule'
The Work at Height Regulations (WAHR) were introduced in Great Britain on 6 April 2005. The impact of the new Regulations needs to be evaluated in order to guide future policy.
The HSC also decided to evaluate the impact of the removal of the two metre rule for construction work, which was repealed by the WAH Regulations.
