« In France, falls from height are the second leading cause of death in the workplace and the third leading cause of permanent disability and work stoppages.
For the sole construction industry, working at height is the main cause of accidents. In 2009, falls from heights were the direct cause of the death of 49 employees (35% of fatal accidents in construction or 1 death per week) 1.»

The origin of falls from height in construction :

  • work on a scaffold on a platform without guardrails or without a safety harness properly attached,
  • work on fragile roofs, ladders poorly maintained, poorly placed and / or loose,
  • falls from ladders when used as workstation 2.

Who is concerned ?

Falls from height can occur from roofs, terraces of buildings, means of access to high areas (scale, gateway etc.) or pylons.

 All 3 schools are concerned :
  • commercial industrial, or agricultural and their dependencies,
  • public or ministerial offices,
  • professions,
  • civil societies,
  • trade unions,
  • associations and groups of any nature whatsoever,
  • the public industrial and commercial,
  • public institutions determined by decree at the same time provide a public service administrative, industrial and commercial,
  • workshops public institutions providing technical and vocational education.

What are the regulations ?

Prevention of risks arising from work at height is originally treated in the Labour Code and Decree No. 65-48 of 8 January 1965.

  • Including the Labour Code defines the devices that require the headteacher at the layout of workplaces but also the provisions applicable to the client including those of Article R.235-3-20 and especially of Article R.235-5 creates an obligation to provide a maintenance record workplaces.
  • Decree No. 65-48 of 8 January 1965 on special measures for protection and safety applicable to institutions whose staff performs work building, public works and other work on the buildings, meanwhile offers a number of recommendations to fight against the risk of falls from height.
  • Decree No. 2004-924 of 1 September 2004 amending the Labour Code, induces a new regulatory framework. It transposes Directive 2001/45/EC of 27 June 2011 and it is an opportunity to revise and modernize the Decree No. 65-48 of 8 January 1965. Thus the two major changes under this decree are:
  • the establishment of protection against falls from a height whatever the height and not from 3 m as reported in Decree No. 65-48 of 8 January 1965.
  • implementing devices against falls from a height to all sectors of activity covered by the Labour Code and not solely construction industry.

In sum, it modifies and updates the 1965 decree recalling the obligations of prime contractors and principals security staff and people interveners.
Pursuant to Article L 230.2 of the Labour Code, the entrepreneur or owner should focus on collective protection measures giving them priority over individual protection measures. This requirement is specified in the Decree of 1st September 2004: “Preventing falls from height is ensured primarily by integrated guardrails or securely fixed, rigid and of adequate strength.”

Who is responsable ?

From the design of a book for a general obligation of organization and coordination of prevention applies to client and all stakeholders: project managers, coordinators, businesses, including self-employed and under suppliers.

Obligations of the headteacher :

The headteacher is responsible for the safety and health of employees has many obligations protection against falls from a height. These obligations are set out in Article L.4121-2 of the Labour Code which are listed below

  • avoid risks,
  • evaluating the risks which can not be avoided,
  • combating the risks at source
  • adapting the work to the individual, especially as regards the design of work stations and the choice of work equipment and methods of work and production, particularly in order to limit the monotonous work and work-rate and reduce the effects thereof on the health,
  • regardless of the progress state of the art,
  • replace what is dangerous with what is not dangerous or is less dangerous,
  • prevention planning by integrating, into a coherent whole, technology, organization of work, working conditions, social relationships and the influence of environmental factors, including risks related to bullying and sexual harassment, as defined in Articles L. 1152-1 and L. 1153-1,
  • take collective protection measures giving them priority over individual protection measures,
  • Giving appropriate instructions to workers.

Obligations of the owner

The client is responsible for the safety of buildings , before, during and after its construction.

Law No. 93-1418 of 31 December 1993 further defines the obligations of the client including the obligation to respect the general principles of prevention right from the design of the building .
The client must be “the ( DIUO ) subsequent response file on the book “, the latter is defined in Article R.238 -37 of the Labour Code . This folder allows you to gather all the data to facilitate the prevention of risks of falls from height during operations and maintenance . For buildings designed to accommodate workplace maintenance file under Article R.235 -5 is integrated DIUO when it is needed.
It must also appoint a safety coordinator and health protection (SPS) when the site involves more than one company even before the project development phase.

What sanctions ?

Criminal liability for all

The criminal law provides comprehensive sanctions in the case of:

  • deliberately endangering the person of another,
  • lack of imprudence, negligence or breach of duty of care or safety provided by law or regulation.

Some examples of penalties: or security provided by law or regulation :

  • cause to others unfit for work for more than three months may be punished by two years’ imprisonment and a € 30,000 fine (Article 222-19)
  • cause the death of another (manslaughter) can be punished by three years’ imprisonment and a € 45,000 fine. 4

The right of withdrawal and alert employee

Right warning and withdrawal exists for the benefit of the employee who has reasonable cause to believe that the situation in which it is present a grave and imminent danger to life or health (Law n ° 82-1097 of 23 / 12/82 inserted in the Labour Code in Articles L.4131-1 et seq.)
The employer or the client can ask the employee to return to work within a work situation which remains a serious and imminent danger (Article L 4131-1 2nd al. Labour Code) and can not punish . 5

The injunction
According to case law, a business is not complying with the hygiene measures and security provided by the Labour Code may be forced to take the necessary measures to restore normal health and safety

Stop Construction
In case of absence or failure to implement safeguards against falls from a height, a site may be partially or completely stopped by the labor inspector (Article L.4731-1). 6

Inexcusable fault
The concept of gross negligence has been defined by the courts in a judgment of 16 July 1941: “inexcusable fault means a fault of exceptional gravity derived from an act or willful default of consciousness the danger was to have its author, the absence of any significant cause but having no element of intent. 7 “So the client or employer may be sanctioned if the concept of gross negligence is retained (for example, if the implementation of collective protection has not been done while he was technically possible do).

What equipment set up

As stated in the Labour Code and the Decree of 1st September 2004 the collective protection should be preferred to personal protection.
It is mandatory to implement security features such railings safe and durable, they must meet the French standard NF E85-015 or EN ISO 14122-3 European.
Recalls the standard:

  • railing must be installed as soon as possible is drop height greater than 500 mm,
  • the height of the boom of the railing must be between 1000 mm and 1100 mm above the running surface,
  • the free space between the boom and the lower rail, and between the lower rail and the plinth must be less or equal to 500 mm.
  • a plinth height 100 mm minimum shall be installed 10 mm maximum level of ambulation and the edge of the platform,
  • should be the distance between the axes of the amounts is limited to 1500 mm max,
  • if the beam is interrupted, the free space between two segments of the rails must be between 75 mm and 120 mm. If there is a greater openness, a gate to ensure the continuity of the anti ¬ fall guardrail safety must be established.
  • if the establishment of permanent protection can not be done for technical reasons, temporary protection can be used, if they can not be implemented for the same reasons, it is then necessary to provide personal protective equipment. Below is a summary diagram of the choice of type of protection.

Guardrail dimension

Or set up equipment ?

Protective equipment against falls from a height must obviously be installed when a fall hazard is possible.
Decree of September 2004 focuses on the terraces around the buildings. However, do not forget the existing vaults or openings such as skylights. Indeed, these openings are a real risk of falling and are subject to the same general principles of prevention.


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