Edge Protection & Openings

Collective Protection First

Guardrails, covers and barriers protect everyone who goes near the edge, including visitors and other trades who were never briefed. Both ADOSH-SF CoP 23.0 and the DM Code require collective edge protection wherever it is reasonably practicable, and harness systems only where it is not.

• Main guardrail height

  950–1,150 mm above the working surface

  critical

• Maximum unprotected vertical gap

  470 mm — mid-rail or mesh infill required

  critical

• Toe board

  Minimum 150 mm, continuous along every open edge

  critical

• Guardrail strength

  Withstand 0.3 kN point load / 0.3 kN/m line load without permanent deformation

  critical

• Materials

  Proprietary systems or scaffold tube; no timber battens, rope, tape or rebar as guardrails

  critical

• Post spacing

  Per manufacturer/design, typically 2.0–2.4 m maximum

  standard

Warning tape and plastic mesh are demarcation, not edge protection. Using them at a fall edge is one of the most frequently issued Non-Conformance Reports on UAE sites.

Slab Edges, Balconies and Lift Shafts

• Slab edge protection

  Installed before the following floor's slab is loaded or trades access it

  critical

• Lift shafts

  Rigid gated barriers at every landing, plus deck/net protection within the shaft

  critical

• Shaft gate

  Self-closing or padlocked; never removed for material loading without a permit and harness

  critical

• Stair flights

  Handrail and mid-rail on open sides from first use of the flight

  critical

• Balconies / voids

  Protected before block/finishing trades enter the unit

  critical

• Removal control

  Permit-controlled 'Edge Protection Removal' with an alternative control in place before removal

  critical

Floor Openings and Covers

Every penetration — service riser, drainage cut-out, formwork gap or core hole — is a fall risk. Covers must be strong, secured and unambiguously marked so that no one moves one out of the way to run a hose or cable through.

• Cover load capacity

  Minimum 2x the maximum anticipated load, including wheeled plant where applicable

  critical

• Fixing

  Mechanically secured against displacement — not simply laid over the hole

  critical

• Marking

  Painted/stencilled 'HOLE — DO NOT REMOVE' in English and Arabic (plus Hindi/Urdu where used)

  critical

• Overhang

  Cover extends at least 100 mm beyond the opening on all sides

  standard

• Small penetrations

  Any opening a person's foot or body can pass through is covered or guarded

  critical

• Rebar starter bars

  Capped with proprietary rebar caps where a fall onto them is possible

  critical

Safety Nets and Soft Landing Systems

Where collective edge protection cannot be provided — for example during steel erection or deck laying — safety nets to BS EN 1263 rigged by a competent net rigger are the preferred mitigation, because they protect everyone in the fall zone without requiring individual clipping-on.

• Net standard

  BS EN 1263-1 (manufacture) and BS EN 1263-2 (installation)

  critical

• Rigger competence

  Trained and certified net rigger, with a handover certificate issued

  critical

• Maximum fall distance into net

  6 m; keep the net as close beneath the work as practicable

  critical

• Clearance below net

  Sufficient sag clearance so a falling person cannot strike the level below

  critical

• Test mesh

  Present and tested; net replaced when the test mesh fails or after 12 months exposure

  standard

• Post-arrest action

  Net taken out of service and re-certified after arresting any fall or impact load

  critical