147 workers were killed in 2018/2019 at work in the UK. Of these 147 fatalities, falls from height was the largest contributor, equating to 40 of the deaths or 27.2%. The next biggest contributors were being struck by a moving vehicle at 30 deaths and being struck by a moving object at 16 deaths. These shocking statistics show why it is so important that Health & Safety around Working at Height is imperative.
There are many things you can put in place to reduce the risk of injuries/fatalities occurring due to falls from height. One of these is ensuring that all operatives are properly trained and hold in-date training certificates to ensure that their knowledge is up to date. Working at Height Training will more often than not include:
- Working at Height 2005 Regulation
- Why Working at Height training is so important including statistics
- Risk assessment & risk reduction methods
- Equipment used to work at height
- Guidance on safe working practices
There are many other areas that can be considered to reduce the risk of injury and fatality. For instance, preventing the need to work at height in the first place. You should consider can the job can be carried out using plant or machinery that can operated from ground level rather than at height? Another method of reducing the risk is to ensure safe access for those working at height. Where access to work at height is frequent, permanent safe access arrangements can be installed i.e on plant or machinery this might be steps and platforms with handrails. When portable equipment is used for temporary access, it is important that it is not restricted to that which happens to be at hand. For example, hiring a scissor lift or cherry picker might improve safety.
It is clear that Working at Height should be taken seriously when it comes to the health & safety, if you or your operatives are not up to date with Working at Height training or havent taken a course before, it is worth considering booking onto our next course. Our courses can be booked online here: https://www.easternregiontraining.co.uk/course/health-and-safety-courses/working-at-heights/
If you have any questions about safe work at height, please get in touch with us on 01473 8302555.
