Work at Height – How to Avoid Falls and Injuries

Work at height remains one of the leading causes of workplace injuries and fatalities worldwide, and Malaysia is no exception. From construction sites to maintenance work on roofs, ladders, or scaffolds, the risks are everywhere.

The challenge is that many incidents don’t come from spectacular falls, but from everyday oversights. These hidden hazards make working at height far more dangerous than most realise.

In this article, we’ll explore how to avoid falls and injuries by looking at the most overlooked risks, the right safety measures, and the best practices you can adopt to protect workers and stay compliant.

What Do the Statistics Say

Globally, working at height remains one of the biggest causes of fatal and major injuries, with typical scenarios involving roofs, ladders, scaffolds and fragile surfaces. In construction specifically, falls are consistently a top killer.

For example, in the United States in 2023, there were 421 fatal falls to a lower level out of 1,075 construction deaths, making falls the leading cause in the sector. Similarly, in Great Britain during 2024/25, falls from height were again the most common cause of worker fatalities, accounting for 35 deaths or more than a quarter of the total.

In Malaysia, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) highlights work at height as a key risk area and maintains national accident statistics dashboards that reinforce the prominence of fall hazards in enforcement and prevention efforts.

Academic analyses of DOSH-reported construction fatalities confirm this pattern: a study of cases from 2010 to 2018 found that about 38% of fatalities were fall-related, while another multi-year review reported falls from height accounted for 43% of construction deaths over a four-year span.

Across mature datasets in the US and UK, and Malaysian research grounded in DOSH case records, falls from height repeatedly occupy the top slot among fatal accident causes especially in construction. Treating work at height as a priority risk is not only best practice; it is clearly where the numbers point.

Common Causes of Work at Height Incidents

When people talk about “hidden hazards” of working at height, they are often not really hidden at all. Instead, they are the most common causes of incidents so familiar that they get ignored or underestimated until it is too late. Accident investigations in Malaysia and worldwide repeatedly point to the same patterns.

The common causes are:

Unprotected Edges and Fragile Surfaces

One of the most common causes of work at height incidents is exposure to unprotected edges and fragile surfaces. Roof perimeters, scaffold openings, mezzanine platforms, and skylights are frequent examples where workers are exposed to fall hazards without adequate protection.

The danger here is straightforward, a single step too close to an unguarded edge or a fragile surface that cannot support a person’s weight can turn into a fatal fall. Skylights and fiber-reinforced roof panels, for instance, may look solid but can shatter under even a light load.

These situations are especially common in building maintenance and renovation, where temporary works or incomplete guardrails are often present. Because workers are accustomed to moving around these edges daily, the risks are underestimated and gradually become “invisible.”

Prevention measures are simple but often neglected:

Install guardrails, toe boards, and mid-rails around all open edges.
Use safety mesh or barriers over fragile roofing materials.
Restrict access to areas near unprotected edges unless proper controls are in place.
Conduct visual checks before starting work to ensure protective systems are intact.

Unprotected edges are not a hidden hazard, they are usually in plain sight. Yet, because of routine familiarity and the assumption that “I’ll be careful,” they continue to cause serious injuries and fatalities in Malaysia and worldwide.

Improper Use of Ladders and Scaffolds

Another leading cause of work at height incidents is the improper use of ladders and scaffolds. These are among the most common access tools on worksites, but also some of the most misused.

Ladders are frequently set up at the wrong angle, placed on uneven or slippery ground, or used without being properly secured. Workers often overreach while standing on a ladder instead of climbing down and repositioning it. A “quick job” mindset such as replacing a light fixture or doing minor roof repairs which encourages shortcuts, and this false sense of safety is why ladder falls remain so frequent.

Scaffolds present similar risks when they are incomplete, unstable, or overloaded. Missing planks, absent guardrails, and unsecured ties to the building structure can all turn a scaffold into a high-risk platform. In some cases, makeshift scaffolding or the use of barrels, chairs, or stacked materials as substitutes for proper platforms has led to severe accidents.

Key prevention steps include:

Ensuring ladders are set at a 75° angle and secured at both top and bottom.
Prohibiting makeshift ladders or access platforms.
Fully decking scaffolds with guardrails, toe boards, and safe access ladders.
Regular inspection and certification of scaffolds before use.
Avoiding overloading ladders or platforms with workers, tools, or materials.

The irony is that ladders and scaffolds are meant to provide safe access, but when used incorrectly, they become one of the most dangerous parts of a job. The equipment itself is not unsafe, it’s the way it is set up and used that creates the risk.

Poor Housekeeping and Site Conditions

Worksites often overlook the impact of poor housekeeping and site conditions on work at height safety. Loose tools, tangled cables, scattered debris, and uneven surfaces all increase the risk of slips, trips, and falls especially when a worker is already operating at height.

In Malaysia, environmental factors add to this hazard. High humidity, frequent rainfall, and sudden gusts of wind can turn otherwise safe platforms or scaffolds into slippery and unstable surfaces. A wet plank, a patch of algae on a roof, or a gust of wind while carrying materials can all tip the balance in an instant. These conditions may appear ordinary, but they quietly amplify the risk of a serious fall.

The problem is that workers and supervisors often dismiss housekeeping as a “low-level” issue compared to more obvious risks like missing guardrails. In reality, incident reports show that minor hazards on the ground become life-threatening when combined with elevation.

Prevention measures include:

Keeping work areas tidy by removing debris, unused materials, and tools.
Securing cables and hoses so they do not become trip hazards.
Using slip-resistant surfaces or mats on platforms and walkways.
Monitoring weather conditions and halting work during heavy rain, storms, or strong winds.
Conducting regular housekeeping checks before and during work shifts.

Good housekeeping may sound like a basic practice, but at height, the consequences of neglect are magnified. A small trip hazard on the ground can mean a fatal fall when it happens ten meters above.

Lack of Proper Fall Arrest System Usage and Implementation

One of the most misunderstood causes of work at height incidents is the lack of proper fall arrest system usage and implementation. The word “proper” here is crucial. It is not enough to simply hand out safety harnesses. A fall arrest system only works when all its components such as anchorage, connectors, harness, energy absorbers, and rescue planning are correctly in place and used as intended.

On many sites, workers wear harnesses without clipping onto a secure anchorage, or they tie off to structures not designed to withstand the dynamic forces of a fall. Lanyards are sometimes too long, allowing free falls greater than the system can safely arrest. Energy absorbers, which are designed to reduce the shock load on the body, are frequently omitted. In such cases, the equipment gives a dangerous illusion of safety while offering little real protection.

Equally important is the implementation aspect. Even with quality gear and trained workers, the absence of a rescue plan can turn a survivable fall into a fatality. A worker left hanging in suspension is at risk of suspension trauma within minutes. Without a clear procedure and trained personnel ready to perform a rescue, the fall arrest system fails to protect.

Proper fall arrest means:

Equipment used are certified by local authority (DOSH-SIRIM) or other equivalent international standards.
Secure anchorage points rated to withstand fall forces.
Correct lanyard length and use of energy absorbers.
Harnesses inspected, fitted, and worn correctly.
Workers trained in correct use and limitations of equipment.
A rescue plan in place and practiced, not just written on paper.

What is often treated as a compliance checkbox “we have harnesses” must instead be seen as a complete, functioning system. Without the “proper” design, usage, and planning, fall arrest equipment can become a false comfort rather than a lifesaving measure.

Lack of Training and Supervision

Even the best equipment and procedures cannot prevent falls if workers are not properly trained or supervised. A lack of training and supervision is one of the most persistent causes of work at height incidents, because it undermines every other safety measure.

Training gaps often appear in simple but critical areas such as ‘how to inspect a harness, how to secure a ladder, or how to recognize when a surface is too fragile to step on’. Workers may not know the difference between fall restraint and fall arrest, or they may assume that once they put on a harness they are fully protected. Without proper instruction, safety gear is reduced to a formality rather than a functional safeguard.

Supervision is just as important. Even trained workers may take shortcuts when deadlines are tight or when tasks are seen as routine. Supervisors who fail to enforce safety procedures such as tying off at all times, avoiding overreaching, or inspecting scaffolds before use, send an indirect message that safety rules are flexible. Over time, this culture of leniency becomes a root cause of accidents.

Prevention requires both competence and accountability:

Provide formal training on work at height safety, including equipment use, inspection, and emergency response.
Refresh training regularly, not only after incidents.
Appoint competent supervisors to monitor compliance in real time.
Empower supervisors to stop unsafe practices immediately.
Foster a safety culture where rules are seen as non-negotiable, not optional.

Without strong training and consistent supervision, work at height hazards remain “hidden” because workers simply don’t recognize them or worse, they recognize them but believe it is acceptable to ignore them.

Failure to Plan for Emergencies and Rescues

A final but critical cause of work at height fatalities is the failure to plan for emergencies and rescues. Many workplaces assume that fall protection equipment alone is enough, but without a rescue plan, a survivable fall can quickly become fatal.

When a worker falls and is left suspended in a harness, the clock starts ticking. Within minutes, the restriction of blood flow can lead to suspension trauma, unconsciousness, and ultimately death if the worker is not rescued promptly. Yet, on many sites, the only “plan” is to call an ambulance, which is rarely fast enough to prevent serious harm.

Rescue planning is not just about having equipment on standby; it requires trained personnel, rehearsed procedures, and the right tools to bring a suspended worker to safety quickly and safely. This includes considering the site layout, the height of work, and potential obstacles that could complicate rescue efforts.

A proper rescue plan should include:

Site-specific rescue procedures that cover different scenarios.
Trained personnel assigned to perform rescue duties.
Suitable equipment, such as retrieval devices, descent systems, or mobile platforms.
Regular drills to ensure the plan is practical and effective.
Integration of rescue planning into the overall risk assessment process.

Without this preparation, fall protection systems provide only half the solution. Preventing falls is the first line of defense, but planning for what happens if prevention fails is what truly saves lives.

So, What To Do Now?

Knowing the causes of work at height incidents is only the first step. The real difference comes from immediate actions on site, followed by structured improvements over time.

The checklist below highlights what you can do right now, what to prioritize next, and what to embed into your long-term safety strategy which can be embedded to the behavioural-based safety (BBS) programs.

Table 2: Immediate and Long-Term Actions for Work at Height Safety
Action Plan Samples		Priority Level
	Stop all unsafe work at height immediately until risks are assessed.	Immediate
	Conduct a quick inspection of ladders, scaffolds, and platforms in use.	Immediate
	Ensure all workers are tied off with proper fall arrest equipment.	Immediate
	Brief workers on today’s site hazards and safe access routes.	Immediate
	Verify that anchor points are secure and rated for fall forces.	High
	Clear debris, tools, and cables from elevated work platforms.	High
	Develop and communicate a site-specific rescue plan.	High
	Provide refresher training for all workers on proper equipment use.	Medium
	Schedule regular scaffold and ladder inspections by a competent person.	Medium
	Introduce toolbox talks on work at height hazards every week.	Medium
	Invest in permanent guardrails or safety mesh on fragile roof areas.	Long-Term
	Adopt international standards (e.g. UK WAHR, Singapore WSH) as company policy.	Long-Term
	Embed work at height safety into your overall OSH management system.	Long-Term

Work at Height Regulatory Future

Sooner or later, work at height safety in Malaysia will move from general duties and voluntary guidelines into a specific regulatory framework, just as it has in countries like the UK, or Singapore. The risks are too significant, and the statistics too alarming, for it to remain a grey area indefinitely.

The existing Guidelines for the Prevention of Falls at Workplaces already provide a glimpse of what such a framework might look like. They outline detailed requirements on scaffolds, ladders, fall arrest systems, and rescue planning. At present, they are advisory in nature. But if history is a guide, what is now a guideline is likely to become mandatory once a dedicated regulation is introduced.

When that happens, each stakeholder during the work at height activities will not only need to comply with the minimum requirements, they will be held accountable under the law for lapses in fall prevention. Those who wait until regulation is passed may find themselves scrambling to catch up.

The smarter approach is to start now: treat the guidelines as if they were already law. By embedding these practices into your safety management system today, you protect workers immediately while also preparing your organization for the regulatory future that is almost certain to come.

Conclusion

Falls from height are still the leading cause of workplace fatalities, and the reasons are no mystery, unprotected edges, unstable ladders and scaffolds, poor housekeeping, misuse of fall arrest systems, lack of training, and missing rescue plans. These hazards are not exotic or rare. They are the everyday oversights that continue to cost lives because they are treated as routine or ignored.

Malaysia may not yet have a dedicated Work at Height regulation, but that change is coming. The existing DOSH guidelines already outline what will one day may become mandatory. The best time to act is now: treat the guidelines as law, implement the controls, train and supervise your people, and embed fall prevention into your safety culture. Doing so not only prepares you for compliance but, more importantly, saves lives.

Read

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). (2024). National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2023. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf

Health and Safety Executive (HSE). (2024). Work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain: 2024/25. Retrieved from https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/fatals.htm

Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) Malaysia. (n.d.). Kerja di Tempat Tinggi (Work at Height). Retrieved from https://www.dosh.gov.my/en/keselamatan-tapak-bina/kerja-di-tempat-tinggi

Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). (2019). CIS 15:2019 – Construction Industry Standard on Fall Protection. Retrieved from https://www.cidb.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/PREVIEW-Document-CIS-15-2019.pdf

Rahim, A. H. A., et al. (2019). Causes of Fatal Construction Accidents in Malaysia: A Review on DOSH Statistics. Journal of Occupational Safety and Health. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336813029

Kang, Y. S., et al. (2023). Statistical Analysis of Work-at-Height Fatalities in Malaysia. International Journal of Occupational Safety. Abstract retrieved from https://publisher.uthm.edu.my/ojs/index.php/ijie/article/view/13585