Residents in the Tsuen Wan district of Hong Kong were shocked to find a work man working on the 10^th floor of a high rise industrial building wearing no safety equipment.

The man, who had been hired to dismantle a glass window so they could install a new air conditioning unit, was seen balancing on a narrow ledge trying to get back into the building through a small window. Witnesses were so afraid of the man’s safety – they called the emergency services to prevent an accident.

The worker tried to jump through the window to exit the danger that he was in, however his first attempt failed, leaving the scared onlookers holding their breath. Luckily on the second attempt he managed to enter the building successfully.

Luckily this worker was OK and didn't slip, trip or fall. But it could have so easily been a completely different story. After all, all it takes is one misplaced step, a step on a loose piece of concrete, a gust of wind and an accident can tragically happen.

In fact, accidents from working at height are the single biggest cause of workplace fatalities and life changing injuries.  Yet we see time and time again, people who seemingly have no regard for their own, (or other peoples) safety and are willing to put their lives (and other people’s lives) at risk to will carry out work. There is no clear reason as to why people recklessly put their lives into danger in this manner; it could be that they fear that if they refuse to do the job they won’t have any work in the morning?The one thing we know is that no job is worth risking your life for.

It is your employer’s job to ensure that any work at height has been properly planned, is carried out by people who are properly trained to work at height, and that the correct safety equipment is provided. If you are not presented with the right equipment to carry out a job, you are well within your right to refuse to do the job until you either have either purchased the equipment yourself, or your employer provides you with the correct protective equipment.

The working at height regulations 2005 state that to stay safe you should only carry out work at height if it completely necessary to do so, and even then work should only commence if your workers have access to the right protective equipment. 

Not only is it important that you are using the correct safety equipment, it is important that your safety equipment is in good condition. This means that your equipment has no signs of wear or tear, not fraying and not wearing thin. If, when checking your equipment before undergoing the work,  you see that there are signs of damage – stop work immediately and replace the damaged item.

Here at SafetyLiftinGear we supply a huge range of safety harnesses, from your basic height safety harness through to more specialist insulated harnesses. If are looking for  a specialist safety harness and cannot locate it on our website, please contact our expert customer service team by calling 0808 123 6969 or email sales@safetyliftingear.com 

A window manufacturer and installer has been fined £36,000 after their workers were seen installing a window without any safety precautions, 8 metres above a busy west end street.

Westminster’s magistrates court head that the company carried out window installation work, which put their workers and members of the public at risk of serious injuries or fatalities.

A member of the public provided photos of the workers leading out of a window 8 metres above the street, they also provided a video, filmed on their phone, of the workers accidentally dropping a part of the window which fell to the ground narrowly missing a pedestrian.

The health and safety executive investigation found that the company failed to provide basic safety equipment, including scaffolding – which would have prevented the workers and the window from falling. On top of not providing the essential safety equipment, health and safety executive also found that the workers had not received any formal training, and there was no supervisor present.

It was also found that no risk assessment had been conducted, and the company had failed to invest in the correct safety equipment needed for when people are working at height.

Andrew Verrall – Withers, an HSE Inspector said – “The Company’s standards were appalling, and this was particularly unacceptable as previous warnings had been blatantly disregarded.”

In this day and age, there is no excuse to not take the relevant safety precautions when you are carrying out dangerous work.

Working at height is extremely dangerous so it is incredibly important to adhere to the working at height regulations and take the correct safety precautions at all times. These laws are in place to help protect workers, and the general public. In this case, if the pedestrian was under the window at the wrong time, there could have been a fatal accident.

If you have been asked to work at height make sure you have all the correct equipment for the task ahead. Remember to inspect your equipment for damage before use. If you equipment is damaged in any way, do not carry out the work until you have sourced a replacement, or had it repaired.

Here at SafetyLiftinGear we have a whole department dedicated to height safety. Here you will find a variety of specialist safety harnesses, fall arrest blocks, lanyards, safety lines, rope access equipment, anchors and more.

If you are looking for a specific item but cannot locate it on our website, you can contact us by telephoning 0800 123 69 69 or emailing sales@safetyliftingear.com and a member of our team will be more than happy to assist you. 

Three companies have been fined a total of £90,000 after a work fell 6 meters off a platform that had no guardrails.

Southwark crown court heard that two workers were tasked with dismantling the top level of a unit at a construction site in London. When a worker slipped and fell over the side of the unguarded platform, hit a wall, then landed on the concrete floor. The worker sustained multiple injuries, including internal bleeding, fractures to his pelvis and right arm, and a collapsed lung. The injuries have left the worker unable to continue working.

 The three companies involved, Meta Management Services, Goss Graphic Systems, and Beck and Pollitzer Engineering Limited all pleaded guilty for a variety of offences.

When you are tasked with working at height, it is vital that you adhere to the working at height regulations 2005. These regulations state that before undergoing any work at height you need to ensure that the work is planned correctly, supervised and completed by competent people, and include using the right working at height equipment. For instance, safety harnesses, fall arrest blocks, anchors points and tool lanyards.

It is down to the employers to ensure that their workers are protected when they are working at height; this means that you need to ensure that collective protection equipment, such as guard rails, are implemented to protect everyone who is at risk, and that your workers are all wearing the appropriate personal protection equipment.

Before undergoing work at height, you must make sure that the weather conditions do not pose any risk of harm to your workers, make sure that it is dry and there is no wind. Ensure that the place where the work is to be undertaken is safe. That it’s not likely to collapse, and objects are not likely to fall from height.

At the first of February the laws regarding the health and safety sentencing changed. This means that companies that are found breaching the health and safety regulations can face serious sentences, and heftier fines when caught.

The introduction to of the new guidelines ensure that the courts rule all health and safety breaches in a standard way. Before the definitive guidelines were introduced, it was often left to the judges to decide the seriousness of the breach and then they came to a sentencing decision. This often led to larger companies not feeling an impact from breaching the health and safety regulations, and small companies put under too much financial strain, and ending up out of business.

The new sentencing guidelines now take into account culpability and harm factors on a scale of 1 – 4 (1 being the highest and 4 being the lowest), and the companies financial information. The sentencing is then broken down into 4 categories depending on the size of the company.

If you are running a large company with a turnover in excess of £50m a year you will incur larger fines (up to £10m) than a micro company.

Because of this change in sentencing, it is now, time to act and purchase the correct equipment to protect your workers while they are working at height.

We urge you all to start protecting your workers whilst they are at height and to purchase the correct equipment. At SafetyLiftinGear we have a whole department dedicated to height safety, containing equipment such as safety harnesses, lanyards, safety lines, anchor points, and more!

We would also like to remind you that on the 10th and 11th February we are attending the Executive Hire Show where we will have a stand dedicated to our height safety range. If you are attending the show, come and visit us at stand D80 and X32.

A construction firm has been fined after a worker fell 2.5m head first and sustained serious injuries. The hearing at Taunton Magistrates Court revealed that the employee was working at height on a construction site, when the formwork panels he was installing “gave way” and he fell head first over a ledge.

An investigation conducted by the Health and Safety Executive found that there had been a lack of planning for the height work, and the construction firm were using an unsafe method of installing the formwork.

The company was fined £13,000 and ordered to pay cost of £3,742.18 after pleading guilty to failing to comply with the Work at height regulations 2005.

Working at Height

Working at height is dangerous work. The law requires anybody who is planning to work at height, be it employers or the self-employed organise a plan so that the work is carried out in a safe manner.

If you can avoid working at height, do! It is important not to put yourself, or others in a working situation that they could injure themselves unless it’s unavoidable or absolutely necessary. Conduct the appropriate risk assessments, and make sure all your staff are fully trained, and briefed on the safety precautions. 

If you find yourself having to work at height, make sure you are protecting yourself from potential injury at all costs. Over 60% of fatalities during working at height are a result of falls, either from ladders, scaffolding, platforms, roof edges, and fragile roofs make sure you are using Fall Arrest Block, safety harnesses, Lanyards, safety lines and roof anchors as required. If you do not have access to this equipment do not undergo the work.

Before undergoing any height work make sure that all the equipment that you will be using has been inspected thoroughly for any damage. If you do come across any damage do not use, and postpone any work at height until the equipment has been replaced.