There are many different methods of edge protection, from guardrails and demarcation systems to man anchors and temporary roof rails. One recent HSE case demonstrates the importance of making sure, whatever you choose, there is no exposed gap left between the roof edge and the edge protection itself. In the incident, a 63-year-old roofer was […]
The incidents we report regularly show the risks posed by an absence of edge protection when working at height – but a report from the HSE puts this into a broader context of human cost and financial cost. In its ‘vital statistics’ for 2014-15, the HSE reports that ill health and injury cost the UK […]
Falling through a fragile roof can be a catastrophic incident for workers with any level of experience, but walkovers may be particularly useful in protecting newcomers who are less familiar with a particular site. Walkovers don’t just safely span weaker parts of a roof; they clearly demarcate the route to be taken, avoiding any skylights […]
Rubbish chutes are an important way to carry all kinds of waste from building sites to ground level – with colour-coded chutes allowing recyclable waste to be sorted and separated as you go along. But using rubbish chutes safely requires some caution in itself, as you do not want to put workers at risk of […]
There are plenty of ways to improve safety on fragile roofs, from safety ladders to reach the roof at its strongest point, to walkovers on fragile expanses and edge protection to prevent falls. And the HSE has once again made clear that sites where such measures are not installed will not be allowed to continue […]
Just because a job isn’t expected to take long, it doesn’t mean edge protection should be overlooked – a fall can happen in an instant, and can change a life forever. In one recent HSE case, an employee of a maintenance company was working on a roof in Tooting without any edge protection. During the […]
Suitable guardrails to ensure safe working at height may have been just one of many measures needed on an Altrincham building site. According to a HSE report, a Cheshire builder was converting a shop on Kingsway into three apartments across three different floors. In November 2013, the HSE were first alerted to potential safety risks […]
While edge protection has clear applications in terms of preventing injuries – both to workers falling from height, and to passers-by who might be hit by falling objects – the HSE has recently pointed out the benefits in terms of profitability too. In once recent incident, a horrified member of the public made three separate […]
The death of a 16-year-old apprentice has highlighted how rubbish chutes can not only carry waste materials safely to the ground; they can combine with edge protection to prevent fatal falls, too. In the incident, which this month saw the youth’s employer fined £325,000, the teenager was working on an extension to a property in […]
An employee installing solar panels on a barn in Newton Stewart near Stranraer stepped backwards on to a roof light and fell 3.6m to the ground below – another reminder that if some or all of a roof is weakened for any reason, walkovers can help to prevent those accessing the roof from falling through […]
An absence of roof rails to prevent people and objects from falling during re-roofing work has led to one contractor being prosecuted and fined. In November 2014, the Health & Safety Executive inspected re-roofing works on a property in Neston on the Wirral, and found roof access was being achieved via two poorly constructed scaffold […]
An incident in which a man working at height became severely disorientated after taking a jet of steam to the face has been used as an example of why guard rails are so important. The HSE report on the incident explains that the man was wearing standard safety equipment – a hard hat and safety […]
While many of the incidents we report feature life-changing injuries, it is particularly tragic when a simple lack of edge protection results in a fatality. That is what happened in Exeter in November 2011, in an incident that has recently reached the end of HSE prosecution proceedings. A subcontractor was working on the glass canopy […]
When sending workers up on to a fragile roof to carry out repairs, it’s wise to put your faith in walkovers and guardrails to prevent a fall, and not simply hoping for a miracle. That is what the judge in a recent HSE case said is the only thing that prevented a roofer from being […]
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 […]
The long-term improvement seen in health and safety can continue with a focus on the biggest risk factors, such as preventing exposure to asbestos, and using guardrails to prevent falls from height. Both are still among the most common causes of workplace ill health and injury, and while little can be done about historical asbestos […]
An incident in which a man fell through an abattoir roof serves as a reminder of the value of safety ladders for safe access to roofs, and of walkovers to prevent people from falling through their more fragile sections. In this instance, the HSE reports that the married father of two was given a ladder […]
Falls from height remain one of the biggest workplace killers – meaning there is no excuse for an absence of guardrails on raised platforms, according to the HSE. In a recent incident report, the HSE explains that a Warwickshire man suffered severe injuries including a brain bleed when he fell four metres from a raised […]
An incident in which four roofers were put at risk serves as a reminder of the need for roof rails, and of the HSE’s willingness to take punitive action even where no injuries are sustained. In this case, in July 2013, four employees were seen replacing the roof of a house in Hermitage Way, Stanmore, […]
Two men injured when the roof they were working on collapsed had not been given any instructions about where to secure man anchors, or the use of walkovers to cross the most fragile parts of the roof. In January 2014, the two Lichfield men were fitting an extractor fan on the partially completed roof of […]
Walkovers can help ensure safety when two of the biggest construction health risks are combined – working at height and asbestos. Both have been high on the HSE hit list for many years, as falls from height are a major cause of injury and fatality, while asbestos exposure can have long-term health consequences. Now small […]
Guardrails help to prevent falls from roof edges, while walkovers can provide a safe access route on fragile roofs – and while both reduce the risk of an injury, the most important purpose they serve has got to be preventing the death of a worker. In two cases reported in recent days by the HSE, […]
A ‘grizzly’ conveyor – with vibrating feeders to help sort the material passing along it – was not fitted with essential edge protection, which ultimately allowed one worker to fall from height, the HSE has reported. The unnamed worker suffered a fall from a height of about eight feet on May 2nd 2014, sustaining life-altering […]
A fall of 2.5 metres might not sound like a ‘low’ height, but that’s how far a single-storey drop can be, and the possible outcomes make it clear that edge protection is still an essential precaution on roofs at this height. In one incident reported by the HSE, a 37-year-old man was re-covering the roof […]
A five-metre fall that left a man badly injured may have been prevented through a combination of roof rails and a man anchor or other such harness, according to the HSE. The incident occurred on January 30th 2013 on Dorset Road in Bromley, when a 22-year-old Lewisham man fell from the roof of a domestic […]