Man anchors, edge protection and other fall prevention measures can play an important role in preventing injuries and fatalities in any sector.
But in the UK, the worst-performing industry in terms of safety is agriculture, leading to July 6th-10th being declared Farming Safety Week.
This collaboration between NFU Mutual, the HSE and the Farm Safety Foundation’s Yellow Wellies campaign is an annual event with a single aim: to ensure fewer farmers die on the job in the years to come.
Each day of Farming Safety Week 2015 was given its own topic ahead of the start of the event, and with falls from height one of the biggest killers, it’s perhaps no surprise that safety at height was chosen for the first day.
Yellow Wellies tweeted five ways to improve safety when working at height in the agriculture industry, including: planning ahead for emergencies; using the right access equipment; using fall protection systems to minimise the impact of a fall; ensuring adequate training and supervision; and maintaining equipment.
The campaign asks the poignant question “Who would fill your boots?” but hopefully, with precautions like man anchors and edge protection, in future years the number of fatalities due to falls from height will eventually reach zero.