Article 30 January 2023

Authorisation and authority to work (Working at Height)

This is the first of our ‘deep dive’ series, covering the requirements of the business when managing Working at Height activity. 

Mitie has developed procedures that align with our activities across our clients’ sites.  With some of those activities being recognised as High Risk, these procedures include the need to appoint Authorised Persons.  This ensures that the Safe System of Work is fit for purpose and at the site has robust controls in place to ensure everyone’s safety.

SKET & Appointed Person

The roles detailed within the new Working at Height Procedure, are linked to a Skills, Knowledge, Experience and Training (SKET) matrix that supports the technical requirements of the role.  Further guidance is available through the Mitie Authorisation to Work procedure owned by the Safe System of work team. Please note the requirement to appoint and involve an Appointed Person (AP) is driven by the category of work;

• Category 1 – Low risk = no AP requirement.
• Category 2 – High risk = AP is an absolute requirement!

Once the AP has been appointed, and following a review by the Safe System of Work team nomination form they will be added to Group register, their focus will be to ensure the Safe System of Work is fit for purpose and when authorised they will issue the authority to work at height document as listed on the IMS.

Competent Persons & Instructed Persons (CP & IP)

Appointing competent persons (CP/IP) is also a key responsibility of the AP, again those persons must be added to a register, tracking the period of nomination, which ties into the validity of their training certificates.  Looking at our Contractors, Labour Only and Agency persons there is a route to Appoint albeit the appointment may be restricted to a specific piece of work.  Please contact the Safe System of Work team for further information.

Implementation

The principles of the new procedure and manual should be implemented immediately; however we understand that the nomination and appointment of Authorised Roles and arranging training will take time.  Therefore to mitigate this, we have also developed an implementation plan.  Complete this form to request a copy of the Implementation Plan.

If you require any support, please contact a member of the QHSE/SSOW teams.