PAR2007 - IPAF

WORK AT HEIGHT
High-level
management
Since the arrival of the Work at Height Regulations, site managers have more
responsibility for safety than ever before. But are they aware of what they
should be doing? Contract Journal’s Will Mann finds out in a discussion with
HSE inspector Justine Lee, IPAF managing director Tim Whiteman, Bovis Lend
Lease head of health and safety Andrew Brown, and Taylor Woodrow acting
head of health and safety Steve Derbyshire.
WM: Perhaps you could start, Justine,
by telling us a bit about how the HSE’s
‘Height Aware’ campaign has been
going.
JL: In spring this year, HSE participated
in the campaign aimed at increasing
awareness of the risks of falls from
height. It was aimed at those who procure
work and those who carry out the
work in the building and plant maintenance
sectors.
We want people to understand the
risks of working at height better, and
show them some simple and sensible
measures they can take to minimise the
risks. We are trying to influence attitudes
and behaviour, so that people are
using equipment that is most appropriate,
not what’s most readily available.
We’ve done this by holding educational
events such as safety awareness days
and breakfast meetings. We also ran a
media campaign, plus the traditional
site inspections.
WM: What sort of things have you
found around the country – are people
aware of the implications of the Work at
Height Regulations (WAHRs)?
JL: We’ve found lots of examples of
good practice. For instance, one housing
association had done a cost-benefit
analysis for work on their domestic housing
stock, such as roof repairs, gutter
cleaning, aerial installation, that sort
of thing, and established that MEWPs
came out as the best option: there was
no security issue, they were less disruptive
to the householder, the MEWP was
trailer-mounted so it was easily transported
to site, and the purchase cost
included operator training.
WM: What has been the feeling among
contractors about the post-WAHRs era?
SD: I think the problem with the culture
change that came in with the WAHRs
was that a lot of rumours started
because the regs were not prescriptive.
TW: What would contractors like to see
from the HSE in terms of guidance?
SD: The problem our guys have is that
– post WAHRs – there hasn’t been guidance
on what to do in a certain situation.
It’s perceived that ladders are a
complete ‘no no’, and that if you end up
having an accident involving a ladder,
you’ve made a bad error of judgement.
JL: Well ladders are certainly not
banned. And in fairness, the HSE
and the British Ladder Manufacturers
Debating
work at height
responsibilities:
Do managers
know the pitfalls
to avoid?
10
IPAF POWERED ACCESS REVIEW 2007