Safety Information - Baxi Solargen PHOTOVOLTAIC Manual

Safety information

In order to reduce the number of deaths and major accidents attributa-
ble to work at height, the health and Safety Executive has introduced
comprehensive regulations and guidance that should be followed by all
businesses working at height.
We consider in the following paragraphs some of the main features of the
regulations and guidance. This is, however, only a limited summary and
it is recommended that all businesses planning on undertaking solar PV
installations obtain a copy of the regulations and guidance issued by the
Health and Safety Executive and carefully consider the contents.
The regulations and guidance state that you are required to carry out
a risk assessment for all work conducted at height and to put in place
arrangements for:
• Eliminating or minimising risks from work at height.
• Safe systems of work for organising and performing work at height.
• Safe systems for selecting suitable work equipment.
• Safe systems for protecting people from the consequences of work at
height.
The regulations and guidance highlight a hierarchy for safe work at
height:
• Avoid the risk by not working at height if practicable.
• Prevent falls, where it is not reasonably practicable to avoid work at
height; you are required to take suitable and sufficient steps to prevent
the risk of a fall including selecting the most suitable work equipment (in
accordance with the regulations).
• Mitigate the consequences of a fall; where tha risk of a person or object
falling still remains, take suitable and sufficient measures to minimise the
distance and consequences of any fall.
Collective protection measures, such as guard rails on scaffold, should
be given priority over personal protection measures, such as safety har-
nesses.
Within the regulations´framework, you are required to:
1) Assess the risk to help you decide how work safely.
2) Follow the hierarchy for safe work at height (i.e.avoid, prevent and
mitigate).
3) Plan and organise your work properly, taking account of weather con-
ditions and the possibility of emergencies.
4) Make sure those working at height are competent.
5) Make use of appropriate work equipment.
6) Manager the risks from working on or around fragile surfaces and from
falling objects.
7) Inspect and maintain the work equipament to be used and inspect the
place where the work will be carried out ( including access and egress).
When preparing to install a solar Photovoltaic system, it is required that
you perform a risk assessment in relation to work at height and plan how
you will organise your work, taking into account the site, the weather
conditions and the experience and competence of colleagues or and the
experience and competence of colleagues or contractors who may be
working at height with you.
Risk Assessments
The HSE has published a number of very useful free publications that
advise how to undertake risk assessments.
Two of these that you should obtain are:
Five Steps to Risk Assessment.
A Guide to Risk Assessment Requirements.
The five steps outlined in the HSE leaflet are:
Step 1: Look for the hazards
This will mean looking at the site and identifying significant hazards. The-
se could be features such as a steep roof, a fragile surface where the
collectors may be mounted, unecen ground or obstructions where access
to the roff might be required.
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