Designing out Falls from Height: A CDM Principal Designer’s Perspective
- 14 hours ago
- 7 min read
Falls from height remain one of the leading causes of serious injury and fatalities within the built environment. While significant progress has been made in managing risks during construction, one of the most persistent challenges lies beyond practical completion - in the ongoing use, maintenance, and operation of buildings.
In support of the HSE’s “No Falls Week 2026”, it is essential to reinforce a key principle of the Construction (Design and Management) 2015 Regulations (CDM): risks should be eliminated or reduced so far as is reasonably practicable through design - not only for construction, but for the entire lifecycle of the asset.
As CDM Principal Designer, GHPC’s role is to plan, manage, monitor and co-ordinate health and safety during the pre-construction phase. This includes a clear duty to ensure that foreseeable risks, including those arising during maintenance and use, are addressed at the earliest opportunity.
Looking Beyond Handover
Most regularly, fall prevention is heavily focused on construction activities, generally with less attention given to how a building will be safely maintained over its lifespan. This then requires measures to be put in place to mitigate the potential hazards and associated risk that could have been designed out at the concept stage.
Yet it is during occupation, often decades after completion, that building users, facilities teams, and maintenance contractors are required to undertake routine tasks at height. Without adequate design consideration, these activities can present significant and avoidable risk.
As Principal Designers, we must challenge design teams to consider:
“Can this be maintained safely without introducing work at height, and if not, how is that risk being controlled?”
Embedding a Whole-Life Approach to Risk Management
At GHPC, our approach as Principal Designers (CDM) is to embed a whole-life safety mindset across the design process.
This means ensuring that residual risks are not simply transferred to those maintaining or operating the building in the future.
We actively co-ordinate and review design decisions to ensure that risks associated with falls from height are:
eliminated where possible
reduced through design choice and specification
controlled through clearly defined, practical measures
Key Risk Areas to consider
1. Roof Access and Fall Protection
Roofs represent a significant exposure to persons undertaking works on them of fall risk, particularly during inspection, maintenance, and repair.
As CDM Principal Designer, we work with design teams to ensure:
roof design avoids using fragile materials wherever possible
safe and permanent means of access are incorporated
collective protection (such as guarding) is prioritised
fall restraint or fall arrest systems are specified where risks cannot be eliminated
maintenance strategies are clearly defined, avoiding reliance on temporary or reactive solutions
These considerations are critical for meeting compliance with the CDM Dutyholder requirements and for protecting those who will access the roof long after construction is complete.
2. Maintenance of AOVs Above Stairwells
Automatic Opening Vents (AOVs) are essential life safety systems, but their location, often at high level within stair cores, introduces inherent challenges.
Our role includes challenging design teams to drive design decisions so that AOVs are specified and positioned to:
avoid unnecessary maintenance work at height, particularly above open stairwells
identify safe access solutions at design stage
ensure that maintenance can be carried out without exposing operatives to undue risk
This is a clear example of where early co-ordination with the design team is vital to achieving a safe outcome.
3. Lighting Maintenance in Stairwells and Communal Areas
Routine maintenance activities, such as changing light fittings, are frequently overlooked in risk assessments. However, when located within stairwells or high-ceilinged spaces, they can require repeated work at height.
As CDM Principal Designer, we encourage design proposals that:
specify the use of long-life and low-maintenance lighting systems
avoid the need for work at height where possible, including integration of safe access solutions
minimise difficult access and reduce the need to rely on specialist access equipment
By reducing the frequency and complexity of maintenance, we significantly lower overall risk exposure and reduce the risk of harm that maintenance workers are exposed to.
4. Fire and Life Safety Systems at High Level
Fire and life safety systems in multi-occupancy buildings, such as smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, sprinkler heads, beam detection systems, fire alarm sounders and visual alarms & fire dampers located within ceiling voids, must be regularly tested, inspected, and maintained. However, many components are positioned at high level without adequate consideration of safe access.
As CDM Principal Designer, we ensure that design teams address:
safe and practical access for routine inspection, testing, and replacement
placement strategies that balance regulatory compliance with maintainability
minimising reliance on ladders or temporary access equipment wherever possible
clear and proportionate maintenance strategies that support regular testing
If these elements are not considered at design stage, routine compliance activities may introduce unnecessary work at height, increasing risk and potentially discouraging proper maintenance. Ensuring these systems are both effective and safely maintainable is a fundamental part of delivering compliant and safe buildings.
5. Façade Access and Window Maintenance
Access to façades for cleaning, inspection, and repair is a frequent requirement throughout a building’s lifecycle and one of the most common sources of planned work at height.
As CDM Principal Designer, we work with design teams to ensure:
façade access strategies are defined at an early stage
appropriate systems are specified, such as Building Maintenance Units (BMUs), abseil systems, or alternative safe access solutions
anchor points and restraint systems are integrated into the design where required
window design (e.g. tilt-and-turn or inward opening) reduces the need for external access where appropriate
Failure to consider façade maintenance early often leads to reliance on temporary access solutions or retrofitted systems, both of which introduce additional risk and cost. By embedding safe access into the design, we ensure that routine maintenance can be carried out in a controlled and predictable manner.
6. Access to Roof-Mounted Plant and Equipment
Many buildings frequently incorporate a range of plant and services at roof level, including:
air source heat pumps and ventilation systems
lift overruns and associated equipment
solar PV arrays
flues, extract systems, and telecommunications equipment
While safe access to the roof itself is essential, equal consideration must be given to how operatives move around and safely maintain equipment once on the roof.
As CDM Principal Designer, we work with design teams to ensure that:
safe and clearly defined access routes to and between plant areas are provided
adequate working space is allowed around equipment for inspection and maintenance
collective protection measures, such as permanent guarding, are prioritised
fall restraint or fall arrest systems are specified where risks cannot be eliminated
In many cases, risks arise not from accessing the roof, but from navigating congested plant areas, working close to unprotected edges, or maintaining equipment positioned without sufficient clearance. By addressing these issues at design stage, we help ensure that routine maintenance can be undertaken safely and efficiently, without introducing unnecessary work at height or reliance on temporary control measures.
7. Roof Drainage and Gutter Maintenance
Routine inspection and maintenance of gutters, outlets, and drainage systems is essential to prevent water ingress and long-term building damage. However, these tasks often require repetitive access to roof edges or difficult-to-reach locations.
As CDM Principal Designer, we work with project teams to ensure that:
safe access to gutters and drainage points is considered at design stage
maintenance activities can be carried out without exposing operatives to edge risks
permanent protection measures or safe access systems are incorporated where required
These are predictable, recurring activities. Designing for them early eliminates the need for informal or improvised access arrangements later in the building’s life.
8. External Lighting and Security Installations
External lighting and CCTV systems are essential for safety and security but are often installed at high level, requiring ongoing maintenance throughout the building’s life.
Our CDM Principal Designer role includes challenging designers to ensure that:
the positioning of lighting and CCTV equipment considers future access requirements
safe and practical maintenance strategies are defined
reliance on temporary access equipment is minimised wherever possible
By incorporating maintenance considerations into design, these systems can be safely accessed without introducing unnecessary work at height.
Co-ordination, Challenge, and Accountability
Each of the activities referred to above, is foreseeable, routine, and necessary. As such, they must be considered at the design stage to ensure that risks are eliminated or reduced so far as is reasonably practicable, rather than transferred to those responsible for maintaining the building.
A key responsibility of the CDM Principal Designer is to challenge assumptions and drive co-ordination across the project team.
At GHPC, we:
facilitate early design risk workshops to ensure the project team is aligned at the early concept stages
ensure design changes can be made early enough to avoid unnecessary costs of redesign, or construction phase remedial works which might be required to mitigate issues that should have been avoided
maintain and review the design risk register
ensure that residual risks are clearly communicated through the Health and Safety File to support future maintenance
promote collaboration between architects, engineers, and specialists to achieve safer outcomes
Preventing falls from height is not achieved through a single intervention, it requires consistent, proactive engagement throughout the design process. Involvement and buy in from all members of the project team before risks are designed into a building, brings us one step closer to reducing what is today’s leading causes of serious injury and fatalities.
Supporting HSE “No Falls Week 2026”
“No Falls Week” highlights the importance of preventing work at height incidents across the industry. As CDM Principal Designers, we play a pivotal role in ensuring that this message is embedded in the early stages of a project.
By influencing design decisions early, we can:
eliminate hazards before they are built in
reduce reliance on procedural controls
protect not only construction workers, but also those responsible for maintaining and operating buildings in the future
Final Thoughts
The principles of CDM are clear: designers must consider the safety of those who construct, use, maintain, and eventually demolish a structure.
Falls from height are foreseeable, significant, and preventable risks. The responsibility to address them does not end at handover.
As a CDM Principal Designer, GHPC is committed to ensuring that fall prevention is embedded within design, not as an afterthought, but as a fundamental requirement of safe, responsible, and compliant project delivery.
Good design is not just about what we build - it is also about how safely it can be lived with.
Talk to our CDM Experts today about how we can support your projects:
01344 304 800