According to the current regulations (art.107 Legislative Decree 81/08), “work at height” is defined as any activity carried out exposing the worker to the risk of falling from a height of over two meters and to serious or fatal injuries.

The stable surface can be the ground, the floor, a roof, scaffolding or any other surface that offers safe support.

For this reason, it is essential to adopt adequate safety measures, which include:

• Collective protection: priority over individual protection (e.g. scaffolding, parapets, nets, lifelines)
• Individual protections: PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) such as harnesses, lanyards, carabiners

In order to ensure the appropriate adoption of prevention and protection measures, specific training is therefore mandatory for workers who carry out activities at height, with content related to the use of PPE and work equipment.

Even work carried out with the aid of ladders with more than three steps, requires some consideration and the adoption of measures to avoid possible falls:

• checking the efficiency and integrity of the ladder before use (presence of non-slip feet, brackets to prevent over-opening, solidity of the steps)
• suitable positioning of the ladder on a stable, non-slip, flat surface, free from objects and obstacles
  use of footwear without heels to allow complete support of the foot
• ladders with steps that are sufficiently accessible, correctly walkable and certified according to the UNI EN 131 standard,  easily detectable from the labeling affixed to the ladder
• keeping at least one hand free during the ascent and descent in order to firmly anchor oneself to the stringers or handrail of the ladder and avoid accidental falls
• use of suitable clothing in order to avoid opportunities for tripping (very long and very wide skirts or trousers)
  complete opening of the ladder (complete extension of the safe support surface)
• limited transport in quantity and in safe conditions of objects during the ascent and descent.