In 2003/2004 67 people died and nearly 4000 suffered a serious
injury as a result of a fall from height in the workplace. 13
of these deaths and 1200 of the injuries were due to falling from a
ladder.
Falls from height are the most common cause of fatal injury and the
second most common cause of major injury to employees, accounting
for around 15% of all such injuries. All industry sectors are
exposed to the risks presented by this hazard and even those
falling a short distance (eg from a low
step ladder) may suffer a serious
injury.<>
As a result, Falls from Height are a key priority in the
Health and Safety
Commission Injury Reduction Programme. The objective is to
reduce injury rates by 10% by 2010 against a 1999/00 baseline.
Falls from height usually occur as a result of poor management
control rather than because of equipment failure.
Common factors include:
Failure to recognise a problem.
Failure to provide safe systems of work.
Failure to ensure that safe systems of work are followed.
Inadequate information, instruction, training or supervision
provided.
Failure to use appropriate equipment;
Failure to provide safe plant/equipment.
Key Messages are:
Those following good practice for work at height now should already
be doing enough to comply with the
Regulations;
Follow the
risk assessments you have carried out for work at height
activities and make sure all work at height is planned, organised
and carried out by competent persons;
Follow the hierarchy for managing risks from work at height - take
steps to avoid, prevent or reduce risks;
Choose the right work equipment and select collective measures to
prevent falls (such as guardrails and working platforms) before
other measures which may only mitigate the distance and
consequences of a fall (such as nets or airbags) or which may only
provide personal protection from a fall.
If you don't work at height very often or are unsure about which
type of access equipment to use, it's important that you assess the
risks and select the right equipment for the job. WAIT - (Work at
height Access equipment Information Toolkit) shows you some
possible solutions.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/wait/index.htm