Health & Safety

This British Standard gives recommendations and guidance on the use of rope access methods for work at height. It is intended for use by employers, employees and self-employed persons who use rope access methods, and those who commission rope access work, e.g. building owners and contractors, and also by national enforcement agencies and safety officers. This British Standard is applicable to the use of rope access methods for access to buildings, other structures(on or offshore) or natural features (such as cliff faces), in which the ropes are suspended from, or connected to, the structure or natural feature. It is applicable to situations where ropes are used as the primary means of access, egress or support and as the primary means of protection against a fall.

This standard is not intended to apply to the use of rope access methods for leisure activities, arboriculture, general steeplejack methods or emergency personal evacuation systems, or to the use of rope access (line rescue) techniques by the fire brigade and other emergency services for rescue work or for training.

This British Standard gives recommendations for the management, staffing and operation of an organization providing security guarding (see Annex A) services on a static site and/or mobile patrol basis.

This British Standard does not apply to all security services, for example cash‑in‑transit services, secure parcel services, keyholding and response services, door supervisors, close protection services, event stewarding and the management and operation of closed‑circuit television (CCTV).

NOTE Recommendations for cash‑in‑transit services, CCTV, door supervisors, keyholding and response services and event stewarding are given in BS 7872, BS 7958, BS 7960, BS 7984 and BS 8406 respectively.