Do the Work at Heights Regulations require toe-boards?
Not directly. The Work at Heights Regulations 2013 deal mainly with people falling: guard-rails at least 1 m high, fall arrest systems, permits and rope access. Toe-boards come from other regulations. The Scaffolds Regulations 2011 require toe-boards at least 90 mm high, plus two or more guard-rails, on every side of a scaffold work platform where a person could fall more than 2 m. The Construction Regulations 2007 require guard-rails and toe-boards on cantilevered and material platforms with a fall of more than 2 m.
From the RRD Field Guide, checked against the sources cited in Preventing Falling Objects in Singapore: Worksites, Façades and Rope Access. General information, not advice for your project.
The fuller picture
In Singapore, preventing falling objects is a legal duty shared by the occupier, the employer and the principal. On worksites the occupier must provide adequate overhead protection, scaffolds need toe-boards of at least 90 mm and overlay nets, and debris must go down chutes, not over the edge. Breaches carry fines of up to S$50,000 and two years' jail. Owners must also keep exterior features securely fixed.
More questions on this topic
- Is tool tethering mandatory in Singapore?
- How big should an exclusion zone below work at height be?
- Who is liable if something falls from a building onto a passer-by?
- What are the latest MOM statistics on struck-by-falling-objects injuries?
- Does an MCST have duties when contractors work on the façade?
- What rope access rules help prevent falling objects?
- Must a falling-object incident be reported?