Welcome back to our Risk Assessment Campaign.
In our first blog, we explored the difference between generic and site-specific risk assessments, challenging the overreliance on templates and highlighting the importance of context. In the second, we set out the practical steps involved in carrying out an effective risk assessment, from identifying hazards to implementing meaningful controls.
In this next blog, we will explore common risk assessment mistakes in this area and, more importantly, how to avoid them, helping you strengthen both compliance and safety.
What the Industry Told Us
In a recent HLS poll asking, “Which people-related risk assessment mistake is most common?” the results revealed:
- 36% – Staff not involved
- 24% – Training gaps
- 20% – Not shared with team
- 20% – No team input
The message is clear: the biggest weakness in risk assessments is not paperwork, it is engagement.
If the people doing the job are not involved in identifying risks, critical hazards are easily missed.
With that in mind, here are 10 common working at height risk assessment mistakes, and how to avoid them.
1. Using Generic Assessments Instead of Site-Specific Ones
Generic templates often miss site-specific hazards like access routes, surface conditions, or surrounding activity.
Avoid it:
Use templates as a starting point only. Tailor every assessment to the exact task, location, and environment before work begins.
The HLS Work at Height Risk Assessment Template is available as a ready-to-use PDF to help you build documentation around real conditions, not assumptions.
2. Skipping the Site Survey
Assessments based on assumptions overlook hidden hazards.
Fragile surfaces, restricted access points, overhead obstructions, or unstable ground conditions are often only identified through a physical inspection of the site.
Avoid it:
Conduct a physical site survey before completing your risk assessment.
If you are unsure about the risks present on your site, HLS offers a full site survey and risk assessment service to help you identify hazards and determine the safest working at height solution.
3. Overlooking Who Else Is at Risk
Focusing only on the worker at height ignores risks to ground staff, contractors, visitors, or the public.
Avoid it:
Identify all groups who could be affected and consider additional vulnerabilities such as young, temporary, or non-English-speaking workers.
4. Selecting the Wrong Access Equipment
Ladders are still one of the most misused pieces of equipment for working at height. Using equipment that is not suited to the task increases instability, overreaching, and time spent exposed to risk.
Avoid it:
Match the equipment to the job, duration, and environment. Consider height, ground conditions, movement required, and materials being handled. If a safer or more stable platform is available, use it. When in doubt, seek advice before work begins.
If you have a fixed production environment, ultra-rugged terrain or hazardous handling, then you may need a bespoke access platform for working at height. A custom-built platform is ideal in environments where standard equipment is not suitable. We can help you identify what working at height equipment will work for your needs quickly and easily.
5. Ignoring Environmental Conditions
Weather and site conditions can change risk levels quickly. Wind, rain, ice, poor lighting, or uneven ground can all make routine tasks dangerous.
Avoid it:
Assess environmental conditions before work starts and monitor them throughout the task. Set clear limits for when work must pause or stop if conditions become unsafe.
6. Not Checking Competence
Experience does not automatically mean someone is competent to work at height. Incorrect equipment use and poor judgement are common contributing factors in incidents.
Avoid it:
Verify that workers are properly trained, authorised, and familiar with the specific equipment being used. Ensure supervisors understand their responsibilities and provide refresher training where necessary.
HLS can assist you to choose the correct course to suit your team's needs on any category at your site or at one of our network of IPAF approved training partners centres across the UK.
Browse the different types of courses available below or get in touch to discuss our bespoke training options.
7. Identifying Controls but Not Enforcing Them
Risk assessments often list control measures, but they are not always followed consistently on site.
Avoid it:
Ensure protective measures such as edge protection, harnesses, and exclusion zones are installed and used correctly. Supervision and regular checks help turn written controls into real protection.
8. Poor or Incomplete Documentation
Rushed or vague documentation makes it difficult to demonstrate compliance and learn from previous jobs.
Avoid it:
Keep assessments clear, specific, and relevant to the task. Record significant hazards and control measures properly, and make sure documentation is available and understood on site.
9. Failing to Review and Update
Workplaces change, equipment, personnel, and site layouts evolve. An outdated assessment may no longer reflect real conditions.
Avoid it:
Review risk assessments regularly and update them whenever there is a change in task, environment, or workforce. Treat them as live documents, not one-off paperwork.
10. Treating Risk Assessment as a Tick-Box Exercise
When risk assessments are completed purely to satisfy paperwork requirements, important details are missed.
Avoid it:
Engage supervisors and workers in the process. Use risk assessments as practical planning tools that actively guide how the work will be carried out safely.
Final Thoughts
Throughout this campaign, one message has been consistent:
Risk assessment is not about paperwork; it is about prevention.
When it comes to working at height, the quality of your assessment directly influences the safety of your people and the resilience of your business.
If you would like support reviewing your work at height procedures, strengthening site-specific documentation, or improving your overall risk management approach, specialist guidance can ensure your systems are practical, compliant, and genuinely protective.
Because when work leaves the ground, your standards cannot afford to fall.
