Edge Protection and Access

Edge protection is a guardrail barrier fitted around the top of an open excavation to stop people, tools or materials falling in. Our edge protection systems are versatile enough to work with almost all of our shoring solutions, helping you meet your duties under the UK's Work at Height regulations.

For shallow excavations with battered sides, a ramp or steps cut into the ground may be all that is needed. Most trenches use a ladder: HSE guidance calls for it to stand on a firm base, be secured against slipping and extend about 1m above the landing place. Where the trench is shored with a box, our ladder access systems can be attached to the box using pins and clips, with a gated platform at the top so the guardrail stays closed until someone is on the ladder. Your risk assessment will inform which arrangement best suits the dig.

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 require suitable steps to prevent people, equipment and materials falling into an excavation, and the Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply to falls into an excavation just as they do to falls from a scaffold. In practice that means guarding the edge and providing a proper way in and out, which is what this range is for. Your temporary works coordinator or safety advisor will confirm what your site needs.

Yes. With the right accessories our steel mesh barriers fit Frami panels, Dokaflex falsework and Slimshore soldiers as well as our trench boxes.