The brief
AO Recycling required a full review and upgrade of their existing roof access and fall protection systems to ensure safe access could be achieved across the warehouse facility. The existing safety line systems were becoming unusable due to a lack of safe access routes to the lower roof areas, and there were insufficient fall protection systems in place for operatives carrying out roof maintenance and servicing works.
Large industrial and warehouse buildings present specific working at height challenges: extensive flat or low-pitch roof areas, fragile skylight panels, multiple roof levels at different heights, and the need for maintenance teams to access rooftop plant and services on a routine basis. Where access and fall protection provision has not been systematically designed across the whole building, individual areas can become effectively inaccessible — leaving maintenance teams working without proper protection, or avoiding the work altogether.
Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, duty holders must ensure that all work at height is properly planned and that suitable equipment is provided for every access situation. Where fragile roof surfaces such as skylights are present, Regulation 9 requires that specific measures are in place to prevent falls through those surfaces. The brief was to design and install a coordinated package of fall protection and access equipment that would give maintenance teams safe, compliant access to every roof area — while bringing the existing guardrail provision up to current standards.
What we did
Sky Height Safety supplied and installed 90 anchor points across the site to allow safe maintenance of the roof and skylight areas. Anchor point type and placement was determined following a detailed assessment of the roof layout, available fall clearance distances, and the maintenance activities required in each zone — ensuring each point provides appropriate protection for the specific tasks to be carried out there. All anchor points were installed and tested in accordance with BS 7883:2019.
We also installed two fixed access ladders to create safe routes onto the lower roof areas, allowing operatives to safely reach the existing safety line systems already in place. The ladders were designed and installed in accordance with BS 4211:2005+A1:2008, with integrated fall arrest provision to protect operatives during ascent and descent.
In addition, guardrail systems were installed around the roof access hatches to provide collective edge protection at each access point. The existing perimeter guardrail was assessed against BS EN 13374:2013, and remedial works were carried out wherever systems did not meet the minimum 1100mm height requirement. Where remediation was practical, works were carried out to bring the existing guardrail back into compliance; where it was not, replacement sections were supplied and installed.
Following completion of all installation works, the full site was tested and inspected, with certification and detailed reports issued for both the newly installed systems and the existing systems retained on site. A site-wide asset register was produced, documenting each system’s location, applicable standard, installation date, and next scheduled inspection date.
The outcome
The works have provided AO Recycling with compliant, safe, and practical access across all roof areas — ensuring maintenance teams can reach and work throughout the facility without improvised or unprotected access. Every newly installed system is certified to current British Standards and entered into a 12-month recertification cycle alongside the retained legacy systems.
The coordinated package of access ladders, anchor points, skylight protection, and edge protection means that no roof area is now effectively inaccessible — removing the unsafe access conditions that had developed in parts of the facility prior to the project. The asset register and certification schedule also give the facilities management team clear visibility of compliance status and forward inspection planning across the whole site.
AO Recycling remain a current client — we continue to act on their behalf for the annual inspection programme and any further remedial works identified each cycle.