Any work or traffic area located at a height of more than 2 m must be
equipped with devices to protect the worker against any risk of falling.
To this end, the following are installed:
- either guardrails placed at the height of 1 m with plinths at least 15 cm
high; - or canopies, fans, floors, or any other device designed to prevent the
a worker from falling.
The guardrails must be rigid. They may be made of wooden crosspieces,
bars or tubes or safety harnesses and must be made available to
workers.
When the execution of work on a ladder is likely to present a risk for
the worker, good quality scaffolding is provided, constructed of solid
and resistant materials, and protected by guardrails and a plinth under
the conditions set out in the above article. The work platforms, the
floors of the scaffolds and the footbridges must have a sufficient width
and offer all the guarantees of stability, solidity and resistance in
connection with the work carried out and the supported load.
They must be protected by guardrails and a plinth and their surface
must not present discontinuities.
The service ladders must be fixed or maintained so they
cannot slide down or tip over. They must extend at least one meter
beyond the point where they give access or be developed by a handrail
at the end.
Only ladders of sufficient strength, taking into account the weight to be
borne, and equipped with all their rungs which must be rigid and firmly
fitted into the uprights.
Ladders may not be used to carry loads weighing more than 30 kg.
No ladder may be repaired with splints or bindings.
Double ladders must have their stiles connected or secured during use
to prevent accidental separation.
Ladders or runners shall be of a design that provides, at their fullest
extent a length of overlap of the planes of at least one meter.
Shafts, hatches, tanks and basins, reservoirs, pits, and drop openings
must be constructed, installed, or protected in conditions that ensure
the safety of personnel. In the absence of an appropriate installation
intended to prevent the fall of workers, they are provided with solid,
rigid and fixed fences of one meter in height.
All measures must be taken to avoid the risks of landslides, falls of
people and objects, drowning, etc. before the execution of
underground or semi-underground works.