Appeal for safer practices when working at height
01 February 2010
Falls from height still cause the most serious of incidents resulting in a quarter of all major injuries and are still the most common kind of workplace accident causing fatality, with provisional figures showing that 58 people died from a fall from height at work in 2007/08.
The BSIF appeals for safer practices when working at height
The British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) is committed to raising awareness of height safety therefore saving lives of people who, by the nature of their work, put themselves at risk.
David Hall, Chairman for the BSIF commented: "The BSIF would like to see the incidents of injuries caused by working at height significantly reduced. Many lives are lost due to negligence, often due to ignorance and a lack of training. It is these areas we need to address and ensure everyone working at height can access important safety advice."
A number of challenges facing the safety industry have been, or are being resolved, including legislative and guidance documents brought into being.
However, there are still several areas which need to be addressed in relation to work at height in order to ensure the safety of workers. These include the range and complexity of available safety equipment which causes confusion in the selection and deployment of suitable equipment; safety equipment misuse; no means to test the competency of an individual and; most importantly, a lack of a single recognised training or accreditation for people working at height.
The BSIF reflects the concerns of its members about these issues and would like to see more realistic safety equipment testing so EN standards can be easily related to real life situations, along with a nationally accepted accreditation scheme for those working at height.
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