Hierarchy of Control & Planning

How ADOSH-SF CoP 23.0 and Dubai Municipality expect work at height to be avoided, prevented and then mitigated — including the 1.8 m trigger height, risk assessment, permits and competent-person duties.

Which rules apply: Abu Dhabi vs Dubai

The ADOSH-SF references on this page (CoP 23.0, CoP 26.0 and CoP 37.0) are Abu Dhabi instruments issued under the ADOSH-SF Occupational Safety and Health System Framework, and they are what an Abu Dhabi inspector will audit hierarchy of control & planning against.

In Dubai the equivalent legal reference is the Dubai Municipality Code of Construction Safety Practice, with Trakhees EHS requirements in PCFC areas and DDA rules in Dubai Development Authority areas. Other emirates apply their municipal building-permit safety conditions — Sharjah uses OSHJ-CoP-04, RAK free-zone projects use the RAKEZ HS&E Construction Regulations. Federally, MOHRE Ministerial Resolution 32 of 2022 applies everywhere.

The controls below are technically equivalent across emirates, so ADOSH-SF is widely used as the project benchmark — but cite your own emirate's code on permits, method statements and inspection records.

Regulatory Framework

Working at height is the third most common compliance gap found on UAE construction sites, after temporary electrical installations and plant/lifting. Abu Dhabi applies ADOSH-SF Code of Practice 23.0 (Safety in Working at Height), CoP 26.0 (Scaffolding) and CoP 37.0 (Ladders) under the ADOSH-SF Occupational Safety and Health System Framework. Dubai applies the Dubai Municipality Code of Construction Safety Practice, with Trakhees HSE requirements in Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation areas and DDA rules in Dubai Development Authority areas. Sharjah applies OSHJ-CoP-04 Working at Height Safety (v2.0, July 2024) through SPSA/OSHJ. Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain rely on their municipal building and construction safety conditions plus the federal MOHRE occupational safety duties; the RAK Economic Zone also publishes the RAKEZ HS&E Construction Regulations. Federally, MOHRE Ministerial Resolution 32 of 2022 on Occupational Health and Safety obliges every employer to prevent falls from height.

Abu Dhabi — primary code
ADOSH-SF CoP 23.0 / 26.0 / 37.0 — Safety in Working at Height, Scaffolding, Ladders
critical
Dubai — primary code
DM Code of Construction Safety Practice (work at height chapter)
critical
Dubai free zones
Trakhees HSE / DDA construction safety requirements
critical
Sharjah — primary code
OSHJ-CoP-04 Working at Height Safety (v2.0, July 2024)
critical
Northern emirates
Municipal construction safety conditions + MOHRE federal OSH duties
critical
Federal duty
MOHRE Ministerial Resolution 32/2022 — OSH obligations
critical
Technical standards
BS EN 12811, BS 5975, BS EN 131, BS EN 361–365, BS EN 795, BS 8437, BS EN 280
standard

Trigger Height and Scope

ADOSH-SF CoP 23.0 treats any work where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury as work at height, with 1.8 m as the standard trigger for mandatory fall protection on construction sites in the UAE. Dubai Municipality applies the same practical threshold and additionally requires fall protection regardless of height where work is over water, over exposed reinforcement bars, over openings, or adjacent to plant and traffic. Work at any height on fragile surfaces, on or near excavation edges, and from suspended access equipment is always in scope.

Standard trigger height
1.8 m above a lower level
critical
Height-independent triggers
Over water, exposed rebar, open shafts/voids, moving plant, fragile surfaces
critical
Leading-edge / unprotected edge work
Fall protection required from first metre of exposure
critical
Excavation edges
Edge protection or restraint where depth ≥1.2 m
standard

Do not treat 1.8 m as a licence to work unprotected below it. Falls from 1.2–1.8 m onto rebar starter bars, kerbs or plant have been fatal on UAE sites; the risk assessment, not the tape measure, decides.

Hierarchy of Control

Both ADOSH-SF CoP 23.0 and the DM Code require the hierarchy to be applied in order and the reasoning recorded in the risk assessment. Personal fall arrest is the last resort, not the default. Auditors routinely raise findings where a harness is issued because a guardrail was 'inconvenient'.

Order	Control	Examples on a UAE site
1	Avoid work at height	Pre-assemble at ground level, ground-operated tools, mast-mounted plant, cast-in anchors and lifting points designed in
2	Prevent falls — collective	Full guardrail scaffolds, permanent/temporary edge protection, covered and load-rated openings, tower cranes with caged access
3	Prevent falls — personal	Work restraint (lanyard adjusted so the edge cannot be reached), rope-access restraint systems
4	Mitigate falls — collective	Safety nets fixed as close as practicable beneath the work, soft-landing/air-bag systems
5	Mitigate falls — personal	Full-body harness with energy-absorbing lanyard or self-retracting lifeline to a certified anchor
6	Minimise consequences	Rescue plan, trained rescuers, suspension-trauma relief straps, first-aid and evacuation route

Risk Assessment, Method Statement and Permits

A task-specific risk assessment and method statement (RAMS) must be produced for every work-at-height activity, approved by the HSE manager and briefed to the crew in a language they understand. Dubai Municipality and Trakhees both expect a Work at Height permit to be raised for scaffold erection/alteration/dismantling, fragile-roof work, suspended access, leading-edge work and any work above 1.8 m outside a fully guarded platform.

Task-specific RAMS
Approved before work starts; reviewed on any change of method, plant or edge condition
critical
Work at Height permit
Required for scaffold erection/dismantle, fragile roofs, suspended access and leading-edge work
critical
Permit validity
Single shift, re-validated daily and after any weather or structural change
standard
Toolbox talk
Pre-task briefing recorded with signatures, delivered in workers' languages
critical
Competent person appointed
Named in the permit with documented training and experience
critical
Emergency rescue plan
Attached to the permit — no permit is valid without one
critical

Weather, Heat and Environmental Limits

UAE conditions add constraints that generic codes do not. Work at height must stop in high wind, sandstorms, poor visibility and during the summer midday break. Wind limits are lower where sheeting, boards or panels act as sails, and MEWPs have their own manufacturer wind ratings which are usually more restrictive than the site limit.

General wind stop limit
Stop work at 38 km/h (Beaufort 5–6) or the lower manufacturer limit
critical
Crane-assisted / panel handling
Stop at 32 km/h or as stated by the lift plan
critical
MEWP wind rating
Typically 12.5 m/s (45 km/h) — never exceed the plate on the machine
critical
Midday break
MOHRE midday work ban, 12:30–15:00, 15 June to 15 September
critical
Sandstorm / visibility
Stop when visibility prevents seeing the edge, anchor or ground crew
critical
Post-weather inspection
Re-inspect scaffolds, nets and edge protection after any storm before re-use
critical