20.08.2008

Insurer warns on work at Height

UK based insurer Norwich Union has warned builders and other trades not to become complacent when working at height, as part of its Simply Safety campaign which includes a single page downloadable guide to working at height.
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The guide could be used as a handout or as a poster

Phil Grace, liability risk manager at Norwich Union says: “Despite the Work at Height Regulations 2005, businesses still seem oblivious to the risks involved and are often unwilling to put cheap and simple controls in place.”

“Since the introduction of the regulations, responsibility lies with employers, the self-employed and any person supervising the work of others to minimise risk. These individuals are required to ensure that work at height is properly planned and organised.”

in addition to falls from ladders and scaffolding, Grace notes that a high number of serious accidents occur from falling from ‘low heights’ – activity carried out close to the ground, such as unloading materials from a Heavy Goods Vehicle.

“Measures to prevent a person from falling should always be taken. Those involved in work at height should be competent to do so and receive proper training to operate any equipment. It is also vital that the equipment selected for working at height is appropriate to do the job and is maintained thoroughly.”

“Statistics indicate that incidents commonly result from poor management rather than equipment breakage or structural failure, so this emphasises the need for those responsible for ensuring worker safety to implement effective risk assessment,” he concludes.

Click Here to go to the guide which can be used as a hand out or enlarged into a poster.