The safest way to manage working at height is to remove the need for it. This guide explains the Work at Height Regulations 2005, the real risks of ladder use in traffic management, and the ground-level alternatives now used by councils and contractors across the UK.
Working at height remains the leading cause of workplace death in Great Britain. In 2024/25, 35 workers died from falls from height — 28% of all workplace fatalities — and thousands more suffered serious injury. In traffic management, much of that risk comes from a single routine task: climbing a ladder to cover, or “bag off”, a traffic signal, street light or road sign.
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 are clear: if work at height can be avoided, it must be. This page explains what the law requires, why ladders remain a persistent risk on highways schemes, and how ground-level systems such as CoverMe — invented by IRSS founder Peter Hoban — remove the ladder entirely.
Working at height means any work where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. That includes work on ladders, steps, mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) and tower access — even at relatively low heights.
In traffic management and highways maintenance, working at height typically involves:
Each of these tasks has traditionally required a ladder or MEWP, an operative leaving the ground, and often a road or lane closure to protect them while they work. Multiply that across a single junction upgrade — which can involve dozens of signal heads — and the exposure adds up quickly.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publishes annual figures on workplace fatalities, and falls from height have been the single largest cause of worker deaths in Great Britain every year for over two decades.
Falls from ladders account for a substantial share of these incidents, and highways work adds hazards of its own: live traffic passing close to the work area, uneven verges and footways, night working, and weather exposure. A ladder that is safe in a depot can be dangerous on a cambered road at 2am in the rain.
There is also a hidden cost. Working at height on highways usually demands additional traffic management — lane closures, temporary signals, additional operatives — which increases scheme cost, duration and disruption to the public.
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply to all work at height where there is risk of a fall liable to cause injury. They place duties on employers, the self-employed, and anyone who controls the work of others.
The Regulations require that:
Crucially, the Regulations set out a strict order of preference. Duty holders must avoid work at height wherever possible before they consider how to make it safer. Using a ladder because “that’s how it’s always been done” is not a defence if a reasonably practicable ground-level alternative exists.
HSE guidance on working at height follows a simple three-step hierarchy:
Most traditional controls in traffic management sit at steps two and three: harnesses, MEWP training, ladder inspection regimes. These reduce risk but never remove it — and they add cost and time to every task.
Ground-level bagging-off systems sit at step one. If a traffic signal can be covered from the ground with a pole-deployed cover, the operative never leaves the footway, the fall risk is eliminated rather than managed, and in many cases the supporting traffic management can be reduced as well. Under the Regulations, where such an alternative is reasonably practicable, it is the option duty holders are expected to choose.
Ladder-free traffic management is no longer a niche idea — it is established practice on schemes for councils, airports and rail operators across the UK. Ground-level alternatives include:
The benefits compound: no ladder, no MEWP hire, fewer operatives, faster deployment (a CoverMe cover fits in under 60 seconds), less plastic waste, and a smaller traffic management footprint. The safety case and the commercial case point in the same direction.
IRSS designs and manufactures the CoverMe range — the original “no ladders required” bagging-off system, invented by Peter Hoban and endorsed by ARTSM. Every product deploys from ground level in under 60 seconds.
Pole-deployed covers for signal heads — the flagship system used at Heathrow Airport and by councils nationwide.
Ground-level covering for lanterns during maintenance and column replacement.
Reusable sign covers fitted without steps or ladders.
Beacon covers used on crossing upgrade schemes.
Protection for signal stems and infrastructure.
Councils, airports and rail operators across the UK have removed the ladder from routine covering work. Explore how:
Remove working at heights accidents in Traffic Management by using the Cover Me range of covers that eliminate the need for ladders when bagging off traffic signals, Belisha beacons and road signs.
No — ladders remain legal for low-risk, short-duration work. However, the Work at Height Regulations 2005 require you to avoid work at height where a reasonably practicable alternative exists. If a signal can be covered from ground level, choosing a ladder instead becomes difficult to justify in a risk assessment.
Bagging off means covering a traffic signal so road users know it is not in operation, typically during maintenance, upgrades or temporary switch-offs. Traditionally done with plastic sheeting and tape from a ladder, it can now be done from ground level in under 60 seconds using a pole-deployed reusable cover.
Ladders may only be used when a risk assessment shows the task is low-risk and short-duration, and safer alternatives are not reasonably practicable. The Regulations require duty holders to avoid work at height first, prevent falls second, and minimise consequences last.
HSE figures for 2024/25 record 35 worker deaths from falls from height in Great Britain — 28% of all workplace fatalities, and the largest single cause. Falls from height have been the leading cause of workplace death every year for over two decades.
In most cases, no. Because the operative works from the footway or verge with a telescopic pole, deployment typically needs no ladder, no MEWP and dramatically less traffic management than traditional methods — one reason schemes complete faster and cost less.
SUPPORTING ARTICLES PLACEHOLDER — future content: Reducing Ladder Use in Traffic Management · HSE Working at Height Guidance Explained · Temporary Traffic Signal Safety · Working at Height Risk Assessment Template · Best Practice for Bagging Off Traffic Signals
IRSS ground-level covering systems are used by Heathrow, Siemens Rail and councils across the UK. Talk to us about your scheme, or calculate what ladder-free working could save you.
Sources: HSE work-related fatality statistics 2024/25 · HSE work at height guidance · Work at Height Regulations 2005 (legislation.gov.uk)
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