General building maintenance above ground level

Carrying out general building maintenance above ground level can present risks to staff, which left unmanaged could cause accidents and potentially put you on the wrong side of the law.

Managing the risks

To help you identify the hazards associated with general building maintenance above ground level and the appropriate ways of controlling them, use our example Risk Assessment - General Building Maintenance Above Ground Level. It covers the generic hazards associated with this type of activity and suggests control measures to reduce risks to an acceptable level.

Note. This risk assessment only deals with the general aspects of this type of work. You should refer to our Working at Height risk assessment for further information on access and working above ground level.

You should ensure that your document only addresses “significant” hazards, i.e. any that could, and more importantly are likely to, cause an accident or injury.

Make your instructions clear

Don’t include activities in your document that simply don’t need to be there. Work to the principle that if there is any chance of your staff being unaware of the safe way of doing something, then you will need to make it clear in your document. Finally, always ensure that any control measures you identify and follow are decided upon the principle of “so far as is reasonably practicable”.  

Note. The list of potential hazards is not exhaustive. However, for your risk assessment to be considered suitable and sufficient in the eyes of the law it must accurately reflect the “significant” hazards found when carrying out general building maintenance above ground level at your places of work.