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How To Minimise Risks Of Working At Height
Considerations and measures you can take to lower risks of working at height
Did you know that in the last 25 years over 2,800 people have died from injuries they received as a result of construction work? Falls continue to be a cause of fatal injury in Britain's workplaces.
The Health and Safety Executive has issued repeated warnings to employers of the importance of effective risk management when working at height.
This follows the successful prosecution of an East Sussex scaffolding firm after a worker sustained serious injuries after a fall from poorly constructed scaffolding.
Case 1: £16K Fine & Costs For Working-At-Height Safety Breaches
The first incident occurred when a subcontractor was required to undertake construction work from a temporary work platform. The subcontractor, Mr Dorion Skippon, fell two and a half metres (8ft) when a joist supporting his work platform collapsed.
Investigation after the accident indicated the platform had been improperly erected, and a claim was brought against the company responsible for its construction and maintenance.
The principal contractor and manager of the site was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,257.40 after pleading guilty to a charge under Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
An inspector for the HSE, Ms Anne-Marie Orrells said:
"Falls from height are the single most common cause of fatalities in the construction industry [...].
"There were a number of serious failings which led to this incident. The risks of working at height were not properly identified or addressed, and no fall protection was provided for workers.
"Despite this incident, an unannounced inspection by HSE just over a month later showed that there was still a failure to manage risks from working at height, including an absence of guard rails on scaffolding, poor access from the building to external scaffolding and unprotected openings which were large enough for workers to fall through."
In a second case, a roofing contractor and the owners of the premises at which the accident took place were fined £,5000 after a man broke both heels in a 4 meter fall.
The magistrates presiding over the hearing heard how employees of the roofing contractor were systematically exposed to unnecessary risk due to unsafe working practices, including not fitting guard rails and dismantling scaffolding before the work was complete.
David Welsh, Health and Safety inspector said:
"This incident caused serious injuries and could have been life-threatening. There were problems with this work from the start of the job and none of them were dealt with in a suitable way.
"The incident need never have happened if the correct systems had been planned and put in place. I hope other businesses can learn from this incident and appreciate the high risk involved with work at height on roofs.
"Injuries caused by falls from heights are the biggest cause of death at work in Great Britain. Work at height must always be properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner."
What can you do?
- Check you have a policy in place for Occupational Health and Safety
- Check that you have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment in place for working at heights
- Make sure that it has been reviewed recently to take account of the findings of these cases and any guidance issued
- Make sure that you have a procedure that checks that you employ competent contractors
- Keep accurate records to provide you with the evidence you may need should the inspectors call
Optimal Risk Control With Ark
Top brand clients work with Ark Workplace Risk
to optimise their control and management of risk.
You can work with Ark to reduce your risk exposure to falls from height -- from initial policy and procedural development and implementation through to ongoing risk assessment and risk management.
To explore how you can do this, and optimise your Health & Safety and Risk management systems, just use the easy form below or call us on +44 (0) 20 7397 1450.
