The key piece of legislation for people who work at potentially dangerous heights in Great Britain is The Work at Height Regulations 2005. As stated on the HSE website, this legislation was put in place "to prevent death and injury caused by a fall from height". The regulations state that work at height must be:
Interestingly, the 2005 regulations do not specify any particular equipment that must be used when working at height - they simply state the need for "sufficent work equipment" and remind employers that, when selecting appropriate height safety equipment for any given task, they must take account of working conditions, fall distance, the duration of the job, and several other factors.
In a nutshell: the law doesn't state that you HAVE to use a safety harness or a fall arrest block, but you are required to have some kind of fall prevention system in place, and the aforementioned items are among the most commonly-used solutions. In the end, it is up to you to decide what kind of equipment is most appropriate for the task at hand.
If one of your employees suffers an accident whilst working at height, you may investigated by the Health and Safety Executive. If they decide that you neglected to provide the right safety equipment or otherwise failed to fulfil your duties as an employer (as prescribed by the 2005 regulations and several other pieces of legislation), you will likely be prosecuted, which can lead to hefty fines and even jail time.
So don't leave anything to chance! Plan your work properly, carry out a full risk assessment before starting, and always use the appropriate height safety equipment to minimise the risk of a fall.
Further Reading: Height Safety Checklist
We get a lot of enquiries from people looking to rent - rather than buy - our products, usually because they've got a one-off job that requires a special piece of equipment that they're unlikely to use again afterwards. Over time, equipment hire has become just as big a part of the SafetyLiftinGear service as the items we sell outright, and almost all of our products are now available to rent as well as to purchase.
If you are interested in hiring our lifting gear, our height safety equipment, or anything else you've seen on our website, give us a call on 0808 123 69 69 or email sales@safetyliftingear.com to discuss your requirements with a member of the SLG sales team. Alternatively, you're welcome to visit any of our five depots throughout the UK - click here to find your nearest.
When presented with a heavy load, you may occasionally be tempted to just lift it on your own, rather than calling for help or using the proper lifting equipment. You're pretty strong, and after all, you're only carrying it a short distance - what could go wrong?
Well...a lot of things, actually. Heavy lifting is serious business, and you can really hurt yourself if you don't do it in the right way. Here are some of the risks you run when you lift a heavy load without the proper assistance and/or equipment...
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The SafetyLiftinGear team will be at the 2015 Royal Bath & West Show from the the 27th to the 30th of May. This event has taken place annually at the Bath & West Showground for the last 49 years (2015 is the show's 50th year at the Showground), and it really does have something for everyone - here's a small sample of what's going on later this month:
The show will also play host to more than 500 trade stands, where exhibitors will be showing off everything from sweets and drinks to cars and, well, lifting equipment! If you're visiting the Royal Bath & West Show next week, you'll find SafetyLiftinGear at Stand 115 - once there, you'll be able to take a close look at our extensive product range and put your questions to SLG's friendly and knowledgeable sales team.
We'll also be promoting several special offers; a variety of items will be available to purchase directly from our stand at discounted prices (don't worry if you don't want to carry your purchase home from the show - we'll be more than happy to send it to you afterwards). Here are some of the products you'll be able to buy:
This show is truly a great day out for people of all ages, so why not come on down and say hello? Click here for ticket information and prices.
We were recently asked to provide some specialist glass lifting equipment to a customer near London. They needed to lift several large glass panels into position, and so they came to SafetyLiftinGear to see what we could do for them.
Now, we have a large range of products in our Lifting Equipment department, but some projects call for something unique. This was one such occasion, and so the staff at our East London depot designed and manufactured for our client a bespoke 500kg cantilever lifting beam that would meet the requirements of this particular brief.
All of this equipment was supplied by SafetyLiftinGear (except for the glass sucker).
In addition to the cantilever, we also supplied a complete equipment package that included lifting chains and shackles to assist with the job.
As all of this demonstrates, we don't just sell lifting equipment here at SafetyLiftinGear - we provide a comprehensive service that's individually tailored to each and every customer. Browse our Lifting section now, or contact us to discuss your specific requirement. No matter what you need, we will provide it!
Later this year, former pilot Andy Green will attempt to break the world land speed record by going 1,000mph in the Bloodhound SSC, a supersonic car that is currently being built in Bristol.
SafetyLiftinGear is an official partner of The Bloodhound Project, which has been set up not only to break the record but also to inspire a new generation of scientists, engineers, technicians and mathematicians to take an interest in these fields. SLG are providing a range of material handling products and lifting equipment for the project, ensuring that the Bloodhound is constructed as safely as possible.
Click here to visit The Bloodhound Project's website and learn more about this amazing idea.
The main advantage of an adjustable beam clamp is the fact that in can be securely fastened to steel girders and beams without any drilling or welding.
How, you ask? Well, it's quite simple. If you purchase a beam clamp from SafetyLiftinGear, it will have an adjusting bar threaded through the centre. This bar can be turned to adjust the width of your clamp; all you have to do is make the clamp wide enough to fit your beam/girder, then tighten the adjusting bar to ensure that clamp is securely attached.
Once the clamp has been applied, you'll be able to use it for a variety of different lifting tasks. Attaching your clamp to a lifting device will allow you to position the beam or girder to which you've clamped it; alternatively, you could attach your clamp to a pre-existing structure, hang a hoist from the clamp, and then use this system to lift other loads.
The clamps that we sell have maximum weight capacities ranging from 1 to 10 tonnes; click here to see the full range and purchase your beam clamp online.
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