For Office and Commercial employers and workers, this guide explains how to carry out and record a work-at-height risk assessment, and how a Working at Heights Course ties it to your day-to-day Office and Commercial work.
Risk Assessment in Office and Commercial
An office facilities lead stopping a colleague from standing on a wheeled chair to change a ceiling light, and providing proper steps instead. When it comes to how to carry out and record a work-at-height risk assessment, Office and Commercial teams have to control hazards such as cleaning high glazing, ad-hoc ladder use for lights and storage and access to high storage and shelving. Even low-risk offices have falls from chairs and ladders; basic awareness training prevents most of them.
The Office and Commercial action list
- Record a risk assessment for each Office and Commercial task at height
- Choose collective protection before personal protection
- Certify the team with a Working at Heights Course
- Inspect equipment and keep the logs
- Plan rescue before work begins
The Working at Heights Course makes compliance simple
Here is the good news: getting compliant is fast and inexpensive. Our Working at Heights Course is delivered fully online, takes about 45 minutes, and issues a downloadable certificate the same day. It is CPD certified, RoSPA approved and QQI aligned, and it is written specifically for Office and Commercial teams across Ireland.
The Working at Heights Training covers the avoid-prevent-minimise hierarchy, ladder and stepladder safety, MEWPs and scaffolds, harnesses and anchor points, and how to carry out a proper risk assessment. Every learner finishes with a recognised Working at Heights Certificate that stands up to HSA inspection and supports your insurance position.
Training that goes beyond the tick-box
Weather turns a routine job into a dangerous one faster than anything else in Ireland. Wind, rain, frost and poor light all raise the risk of Risk Assessment in Office and Commercial, and the right call is often to stop and reassess rather than push on. Knowing where that line sits is part of being properly trained.
The cheapest control is always to avoid the work at height in the first place. For Risk Assessment in Office and Commercial, that can mean long-handled tools, lowering the task to ground level, or designing the job so no one needs to climb. Where that is impossible, collective protection such as guardrails and platforms beats personal protection every time.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a risk assessment for working at height?
Yes. A written, task-specific risk assessment is a legal requirement before any work at height begins.
How does this affect Office and Commercial specifically?
In Office and Commercial, the same rules apply with sector-specific hazards. Our Working at Heights Training covers both.
Is online training enough for Office and Commercial?
Yes for the core legal and safe-system knowledge; add equipment-specific tickets where the Office and Commercial task requires them.
More on staying safe at height
Young and new workers are over-represented in fall statistics, and office and commercial work at height is no exception. Setting good habits from the very first day - never climbing on furniture, never overreaching, always inspecting equipment - is far easier than unlearning bad ones later. Early certification with a Working at Heights Course pays back for an entire career.
Get certified today
Do not wait for an HSA inspection or a near miss to act. Office and Commercial employers and workers can complete the Working at Heights Course online in 45 minutes and download a certificate the same day. For 10 or more learners, see our team training rates, or contact our team for a tailored quote.
Start the online Working at Heights Training now and put a recognised certificate in every worker's file before the next job at height begins.
