7.—(1) Every employer, in selecting work equipment for use in work at height, shall—
(a)give collective protection measures priority over personal protection measures; and
(b)take account of—
(i)the working conditions and the risks to the safety of persons at the place where the work equipment is to be used;
(ii)in the case of work equipment for access and egress, the distance to be negotiated;
(iii)the distance and consequences of a potential fall;
(iv)the duration and frequency of use;
(v)the need for easy and timely evacuation and rescue in an emergency;
(vi)any additional risk posed by the use, installation or removal of that work equipment or by evacuation and rescue from it; and
(vii)the other provisions of these Regulations.
(2) An employer shall select work equipment for work at height which—
(a)has characteristics including dimensions which—
(i)are appropriate to the nature of the work to be performed and the foreseeable loadings; and
(ii)allow passage without risk; and
(b)is in other respects the most suitable work equipment, having regard in particular to the purposes specified in regulation 6.