The service is open to members of the Designer’s Initiative on Health & Safety (DIOHAS), which includes architects and other construction professionals.
Using the email helpline, DIOHAS members can now contact the Forum with any questions or queries relating to safe working at height. In response they will receive information and guidance from the relevant AIF member organisation whose area of expertise best matches the enquiry.
The launch of the helpline coincides with the publication of BS 8560: 2012 Code of practice for the design of buildings incorporating safe work at height. The AIF was a major contributor to the development of the new standard, which encourages architects and designers to assess, as early as possible in the design process, the implications of work at height both during construction and later.
The standard seeks to minimise working at height over the lifetime of a building, but where work at height cannot be avoided, account should be taken of practical, efficient and cost-effective solutions for the safety of those who have to undertake ongoing work such as cleaning, maintenance and repairs.
Architect Paul Bussey, an associate at Scott Brownrigg and chairman of DIOHAS, said: “Architects and designers often need advice or assistance with any design work that they undertake which has implications for both access and safety. Working with the Forum on both these initiatives has enabled our community to plug in to the work at height industry directly and ensure that we are as informed as possible about this important area.”
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