New Health & Safety Executive work throws fresh light on the importance of edge protection for construction workers, while a recent incident also demonstrates why sturdy walkovers can be better than temporary platforms built out of unsuitable materials.
Edge protection is likely to be one area HSE inspectors focus on in the coming weeks, as construction sites throughout Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands are to be inspected to determine whether they are using scaffolds safely.
“”Scaffolding still poses a significant risk to those involved in its construction and dismantling, as well as those who use it,”” says principal inspector Jo Anderson.
Similarly, edge protection can not only protect workers against falling from scaffolding, but can also put a permanent barrier around the edge of a roof, removing the need for temporary scaffolds to be erected in some circumstances.
Meanwhile, the value of safe and sturdy walkovers was highlighted in an incident on a construction site in Exeter, where two men fell four storeys down a lift shaft when the wooden platform they were working on collapsed.
Once again, professional and permanent walkovers can overcome such problems, by bridging any weak points in the roof, or any gaps, to give employees a safe route across the structure.