Business premises often need more regular maintenance access than residential properties, and with the construction sector seeing an upswing, office roof rails may be in greater demand in the years to come as well. Figures from the Construction Products Association, published by the National Federation of Roofing Contractors, show an estimated 7% increase in construction […]
Roof rails could be instrumental in reducing the total number of HSE prosecutions brought in the north-west each year, by preventing falls from height in the workplace. Figures from the HSE show that of the 65 court actions it brought in the past 12 months in the region, 14 related to work at height. At […]
Construction industry endorsement scheme TrustMark has revealed that so-called ‘bunglards’ are more costly to British householders than burglars – meaning that edge protection, man anchors and other best-practice approaches to carrying out work could have a direct economic impact not only on construction firms, but on their customers too. According to the organisation, in the […]
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Roof rails could see a substantial increase in demand in the coming years, as part of an upswing in global construction led by installations of solar panels and other renewable technologies. The latest Machinery Production Market Tracker from IHS Technology highlights construction equipment as a key growth area worldwide in the immediate future. “Increased demand […]
We often report on where weak guardrails or a lack of edge protection has led to an accident or injury occurring in a workplace, often followed by a HSE investigation and a sizeable fine. But it’s equally important to recognise where sectors are heeding the message of how edge protection can help to protect employees […]
Edge protection and man anchors could be necessary precautions, even if you have a clean safety record and well trained staff. The Health & Safety Executive recently fined a Hounslow roofing company £5,000, with £4,137 costs and a further £1,957 costs charged to the company director, after workers were caught on camera without adequate safety […]
Edge protection has broad applications across a multitude of industry areas, but one discipline where it may be particularly needed at present is farming. Farming is a great British institution, and continues to provide important employment opportunities, as well as generating much of the food we consume on a daily basis. But it is also […]
Guardrails and other forms of edge protection are likely to feature high on the agenda at an upcoming RoSPA safety conference in Birmingham. No Room for Complacency is scheduled for March 27th at Maple House, and as usual when discussing construction safety, working at height is a key issue. RoSPA’s figures show that, in 2011-12, […]
In two separate HSE verdicts published recently, the importance of walkovers for fragile roofs is highlighted by near-miss incidents. Both involved falls from height after crashing through weak roofs or skylights, but thankfully neither ended in a fatality. In the first incident, dating back to August 2010, 25-year-old James Coe was lifted on to a […]
Guardrails are one of the first ports of call when installing collective edge protection for work at height, according to Health & Safety Executive guidance. The HSE is currently overhauling its guidance on working at height, which affects some 10 million people who carry out work at some kind of elevation each year. Regulations are […]
Workplace health and safety should never be viewed as ‘discretionary’ spend, but you might think that, during a recession, spending on safety features like guardrails and man anchors might come under some pressure. However, findings from Spain – where employment levels have been severely affected by the recent economic turbulence – suggest quite the opposite […]
An infographic published on the RoSPA Workplace Twitter profile demonstrates the importance of roof rails, even within a fairly niche discipline. The data drills down into the general construction industry, and further into the particular niche of roofers, who are understandably at a greater risk of suffering a fall from height than those workers who […]
Edge protection could have a significant role to play in reducing the prevalence of major and long-term accidents, injuries and other incidents for specialist contractors. The National Specialist Contractors Council has published its latest Accident Survey Report, collating statistics about the number and severity of incidents that occurred in 2012-13. It reveals that slips and […]
If you have found red tape in your particular industry niche has limited your options in the past where edge protection is concerned, the year ahead could see those options opened up in a whole new way. The government’s Red Tape Challenge has, in recent years, allowed businesses to complain directly to the government about […]
Safety ladders have several benefits beyond simply ensuring the safety of the people who climb them; one that we have touched on fairly frequently is the fact that they cannot simply be moved to scale a structure at an unsafe point. But an image retweeted by NASC, the National Access and Scaffolding Confederation, shows that […]
Global lifting industry website Vertikal.net recently ran a feature expressing concern over the safety of an individual seen working on a Manchester retail park sign without a man anchor, and with several other worrying safety issues. The man was pictured working in the basket of a truck-mounted lift at the entrance to Trafford Retail Park, […]
A Surrey textiles recycler has faced prosecution despite believing no unsafe work was being undertaken at height on his premises – something safety ladders and edge protection could have helped to ensure was truly the case. On August 30th 2012, a Health and Safety Executive safety inspector was passing the premises in Horton Close, West […]
Any high-altitude maintenance work that absolutely must go ahead in the coming days should be undertaken with roof rails and man anchors in place, in light of the severe weather wind warnings covering several parts of the UK, including coastal areas in the north-west. Gusting winds of up to 60-70 mph are predicted by the […]
Edge protection is an important element in scaffolding structures, with guardrails to prevent individuals from falling off of platforms, and safety ladders making it easier to reach upper levels safely too. The coming two years could prove to be a once in a generation opportunity to drive home the importance of edge protecting in the […]
If there are no magic snowmen around the next time you need to work at altitude, walkovers can have you ‘walking in the air’ just as safely, if not more so. These invaluable platforms double as demarcation systems, highlighting where it is safe to step on the surface of a roof that might be quite […]
The heavy weather that has struck across the UK in recent days is an extreme example of why guardrails and man anchors are important for anyone working at altitude or in exposed areas. While it is likely that much maintenance work was rescheduled in the worst-hit areas, where wind speeds were recorded gusting at over […]
The death of Essex Police dog Baron during a training exercise on Monday, November 25th, highlights the importance of safety barriers on flat roofs, to eliminate the risks of any individuals – whether they are human or canine – falling from the roof edge. Essex Police report that Baron, a five-year-old German Shepherd, was on […]
Two recent court rulings relating to HSE investigations demonstrate the importance of safety ladders and walkovers as means of reducing the risk of an accident when working at height. While we often look at edge protection in the sense of falling from the edge of a roof, it is equally important to ensure safety while […]
Edge protection can make an important contribution to safety if you are installing Christmas lights and other decorations around the edge of your workplace roof this winter. In many cases, a ladder is sufficient to reach high enough to install lights – particularly in domestic settings. But with the Ladder Exchange Initiative 2013 already underway, […]