November 2022

Safety at Height
Continued from page 70
According to the WAHR, before working at
height you must work through these
simple steps:
• Avoid work at height where it is
reasonably practicable to do so
• Where work at height cannot be
avoided, prevent falls using either an
existing place of work that is already safe
or the right type of equipment
• Minimise the distance and
consequences of a fall, by using the right
type of equipment where the risk cannot
be eliminated
The adage ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ is
extremely true and the attitude of ‘I’m only
going to be using a ladder for a minute’, or ‘It will
never happen to me’, sadly does not make people
invincible.
Scared of reporting: It may be that workers who
know equipment isn’t safe, or that they don’t
have the correct equipment or training for a task,
are scared to bring this up with their superiors.
Sadly, a culture of ‘just get it done’ means that
more and more accidents are still occurring when
they just don’t have to.
Users need to be competent; they need to be
trained to use equipment and they need to have
access to the correct equipment – this should not
be a luck of the draw situation; it is the basic
requirements of keeping users safe and ensuring
everyone goes home at the end of the working day
the way they started it.
Users shouldn’t be afraid to demand the correct
equipment and training, and they shouldn’t have
to ask. This should be a top-down culture
whereby owners and managers within a business
are ensuring that staff safety is a priority – not
money and/or time.
More often than not, it takes a near miss or a
fatal accident for leaders to sit up and take action
and this just shouldn’t be the case.
Lack of project planning: Lack of planning
during all stages of a project is a significant
“More often than not, it
takes a near miss or a
fatal accident for
leaders to sit up and
take action and this
just shouldn’t be the
case”
cause of falls from height. Insufficient planning
can impact in a number of ways: under-resourced
quotes being supplied at the tender stage to
ensure a contract win; reliance on generic risk
assessments and methods which lack details for
specific projects, and poor design considerations
for construction, impacting on working practices.
All of these can have a knock-on effect on user
safety.
Lack of training: Alongside shortcomings in the
technical and regulatory training currently being
provided to managers, there is still a shocking
lack of training being undertaken by users of
working at height equipment across the board.
There are a variety of work at height training
courses available within the construction
industry, depending on what equipment users
utilise. Most of these courses can be completed
within one day and are a cost effective way of
ensuring that workers are safe and competent
when using equipment to work at height.
Training partner
Werner is proud to work as a partner with
both the Ladder Association and PASMA to
offer ladder safety and tower training
courses to individuals and businesses
with a view to increasing the safety of
working at height.
Stepping up to Safety
For those who experience non-fatal
accidents, a fall can lead to life-changing
injuries and affect not just the victim but
also their family, friends and colleagues.
As part of its bid to help increase safety
when people are working at height, Werner
has recently launched its Stepping up to
Safety campaign, to help professionals stay safe
when working at height.
Working at height injuries and fatalities can be
reduced with the drive for change from industry
manufacturers and associations to lead the way
in safety when working at height, leaving
employers and employees feeling confident and
safe at work.
Contact Werner UK
www.wernerco.com/uk/ladder-safety
www.wernerco.com/uk/training
@WernerLadderUK
72 TC NOVEMBER 2022