Falling numbers

1 March, 2010

Slips, trips and falls in the building and plant maintenance sector can have devastating consequences. At their most extreme, they can result in death, and by their very nature, injuries to workers in this sector have the potential to be life-changing, not only affecting the workers themselves but also impacting upon their families.

Falls from height remain one of the most common causes of fatalities and major injury in the workplace. In 2008/09, falls from height resulted in 35 fatalities and more than 4000 major injuries.

In addition to the significant human cost of all these incidents, there is also the cost to business and society. Slips, trips and falls in the workplace cost British society around £800m last year, particularly burdensome at a time when both businesses and individuals are struggling financially following the recession, and costs that could have been avoided if improved health and safety measures were put in place.

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) ‘Shattered Lives’ campaign aims to reduce unnecessary slip, trip and fall incidents in the workplace by encouraging employers to do more to manage these risks by taking simple, often cost-effective, measures.

As part of the campaign, HSE has developed a campaign website where you will find new case studies and two e-tools: the Slips and Trips E-learning Package (STEP) and the Work at Height Access Equipment Information Toolkit (WAIT).

E-Tools
STEP includes quizzes, videos, animations, case studies and interactive sequences that employers and employees can work through. The package can be rolled out across a workforce as part of a health and safety programme.

WAIT is a simple, user-friendly toolkit for people who occasionally work at height. It gives users practical advice and guidance on the factors to consider when selecting access equipment for planned work at height. It also gives guidance on how to work at height safely, plus useful information on some of the different types of access equipment available.

Those employers in building and plant maintenance whose employees work at height may want to take inspiration from companies such as First Line Digital, the UK’s largest installer of digital terrestrial and satellite equipment. It has more than halved the number of fall incidents through measures such as securing ladders with eyebolts and ratchet straps and fitting workers with fall arrest harnesses.

The HSE’s Shattered Lives campaign highlights not only the financial impact that these preventable incidents can have on the industry, but how lives can be shattered unnecessarily.

Falls from height facts
• Nearly two-thirds of all falls from height that result in major injury are the result of a low fall.
• The majority of falls injuries are as a result of over-reaching, over-balancing, equipment failure, misuse of equipment, or the collapse of a fragile surface.
• On average 12 people a year die at work falling from ladders and nearly 1200 suffer major injuries.
• Working ‘at height’ means working anywhere where a fall could cause injury, even if the place is at or below ground level. It can include working on mobile platforms, scaffolds, tower scaffolds, cherry pickers, scissor lifts, a roof or on a ladder.