Online course in work at height and fall protection

No. This is documented theory training in work at height under the Working Environment Act §3-2 and the Regulations on the performance of work chapters 17 and 10. The practical, hands-on training in scaffold assembly, lifts and fall protection equipment must be completed separately with a qualified instructor. We are deliberately clear about this distinction, because the law itself requires practical practice in addition to theory.

Documented safety training is practical and theoretical training that may be given by the employer or another competent party, and it is required for equipment the employer's risk assessment finds needs particular care (sections 10-1 and 10-2). Certified safety training must be given by a certified training provider and only applies to the equipment in section 10-3, such as tower cranes, mobile cranes with a capacity above 2 tm (tonne-metres) and earthmoving machines above 15 kW. Scaffolds, lifts and fall protection equipment are not on that list and require documented, not certified, training.

There is no fixed height limit. Work at height is all work where you can fall and be injured, and the assessment is risk based. A fall from under two metres onto concrete or reinforcement steel can be fatal. You must always assess the fall height together with the surface and what you may hit on the way down, cf. the Regulations on the performance of work §17-1.

The course consists of six lessons and a final test, and takes about 75 minutes. You take the course for free, and pay only when you have passed. A verifiable certificate with a QR code is then issued, often the same day, documenting the theoretical part of your training.

A person left hanging trapped in a harness can develop suspension trauma within a few minutes, because blood circulation is restricted. It is therefore not enough to wait for an ambulance; the rescue must be able to start immediately by people on site. A rescue plan shall be in place before the work starts, cf. the requirement for evacuation possibilities in §17-1 and planning of rope access work in §17-24.

Yes. The course suits workers and managers in construction, industry, cleaning and property. We have published per-seat volume pricing, so a whole workforce can take the same theory training at a predictable price, with a combined overview of certificates. See the pricing page for volume tiers.

The risk assessment of the work must be documented in writing as part of internal control (internal control regulation section 5 no. 6, cf. section 17-1). Where documented safety training is required, documentation must be issued that practical and theoretical training has been given, available to the safety representative and shown to the authorities on request (section 10-2). Equipment-specific training is documented in writing with which equipment, who gave it and who received it (section 10-4), and scaffold training has its own documentation under sections 17-2 to 17-4. Our certificate documents the theory part; hands-on training is documented by whoever gives it.

Read more (in Norwegian): training requirements for work at height →

Not as a scheme of its own. Certified safety training from a certified training provider is only required for the equipment in section 10-3 of the regulation on the performance of work, such as cranes and earthmoving machines. Scaffolds, lifts and fall protection equipment are not on that list; they require documented practical and theoretical training (sections 10-1 and 10-2), and scaffold assembly has its own hour requirements in sections 17-2 to 17-4. Our course is documented theory training with a certificate, not a certification.

Read more (in Norwegian): is an online fall protection course enough? →

Chapter 15 of the regulation on organisation, management and employee participation, which governs the use of personal protective equipment, sets no fixed inspection interval, such as yearly. The employer must have routines for storing, maintaining, repairing and replacing the equipment (section 15-4), and it must provide fully adequate protection at all times (section 15-3). How often it is inspected is therefore set in the business's own routines, typically starting from the manufacturer's instructions, and the user should check the equipment before every use.