Health & Safety

06May2016

Failure to Provide Height Safety Gear Results in a Hefty Fine

robin health & safety

Once again, a demolition company from Nottingham has been fined for breeching height safety procedures, for allowing their employees to work on a roof without any fall prevention measures in place.

Every day we check the news in the world of health and safety, and find it staggering how many companies are willing to disregard the safety of their employees. Luckily, this case did not lead to a fatal accident or serious injury, but this most certainly could have been the case if the issue had been left undetected.

The company in question were removing tiles from a steep roof without any form of PPE or fall arrest equipment, which meant that the individuals could have come to serious harm, had they fallen and slipped whilst carrying out the work. Those responsible were fined £6,000 by the courts, and were ordered to pay £765 in costs, although the financial debt is nothing compared to the guilt they would have had to endure if something had gone wrong.

Whether it's in the form of bank note, or worse, the life of an unsuspecting worker, those who ignore height safety will have to pay out eventually. That's why it's important to invest in proper height safety gear, to save money and lives, as well as securing your company's reputation.

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13Apr2016

Height Safety Breaches Lead to Fines, and Even Jail Sentences!

mike health & safety

As our regular followers will know, we often write about the vital necessity of height safety measures, particularly in the workplace. We do this to remind employers and workers about the importance of abiding by the correct height safety regulations, by conducting through risk assessments, following best practice guidelines, and using the correct equipment.

Sadly, however, it seems to make little difference how often this issue is discussed either by ourselves, or by other safety professionals. Without fail, a new case of neglected height safety seems to rear its ugly head almost every week. Recently, two news stories came to our attention, both of which had serious consequences for both the workers and the companies employing them. Here's what went wrong, and what the consequences were:

The first case involves a roofing firm in Worcester, who were fined £66,000 after an employee was seriously injured at work. Whilst replacing a fragile roof in April of last year, the worker fell through a skylight and broke his wrist. After an investigation by the HSE was conducted, they found that this accident was a result of the company's failure to implement proper fall protection measures. If edge protection, nets and guardrails had been provided, the risk to the individual and other employees would have been significantly reduced.

In the second case, two construction bosses were sentenced to eight months in prison, and were ordered to pay a £90,000 fine along with £45,000 in court costs, following a worker fatality back in 2014. The incident occurred while C Smith and Sons were dismantling a building set for demolition, which required workers to operate at height. Following one near-miss, and an incident which left a 47 year old man with a fractured spine, pelvis, leg, heel and wrist, work was shockingly allowed to continue. Just hours after his co-worker was injured and only a day after one close call, Paul Harrower fell through a skylight, and died of serious head injuries.

Both of these incidents could have been prevented by the implementation of proper health and safety measures, which would have helped to save the lives and livelihoods of all those involved. Incidents like these can damage reputations and wreck lives, for the victims and their families, as well as those who are responsible. If you conduct operations at height, please take note of these regularly occurring tragedies, and avoid the same thing happening to you! Set the correct measures, follow them, and always use the correct equipment!

For all the latest H&S news and advice, follow us on Twitter.

13Apr2016

Height Safety Breaches Lead to Fines, and Even Jail Sentences!

mike health & safety

As our regular followers will know, we often write about the vital necessity of height safety measures, particularly in the workplace. We do this to remind employers and workers about the importance of abiding by the correct height safety regulations, by conducting through risk assessments, following best practice guidelines, and using the correct equipment.

Sadly, however, it seems to make little difference how often this issue is discussed either by ourselves, or by other safety professionals. Without fail, a new case of neglected height safety seems to rear its ugly head almost every week. Recently, two news stories came to our attention, both of which had serious consequences for both the workers and the companies employing them. Here's what went wrong, and what the consequences were:

The first case involves a roofing firm in Worcester, who were fined £66,000 after an employee was seriously injured at work. Whilst replacing a fragile roof in April of last year, the worker fell through a skylight and broke his wrist. After an investigation by the HSE was conducted, they found that this accident was a result of the company's failure to implement proper fall protection measures. If edge protection, nets and guardrails had been provided, the risk to the individual and other employees would have been significantly reduced.

In the second case, two construction bosses were sentenced to eight months in prison, and were ordered to pay a £90,000 fine along with £45,000 in court costs, following a worker fatality back in 2014. The incident occurred while C Smith and Sons were dismantling a building set for demolition, which required workers to operate at height. Following one near-miss, and an incident which left a 47 year old man with a fractured spine, pelvis, leg, heel and wrist, work was shockingly allowed to continue. Just hours after his co-worker was injured and only a day after one close call, Paul Harrower fell through a skylight, and died of serious head injuries.

Both of these incidents could have been prevented by the implementation of proper health and safety measures, which would have helped to save the lives and livelihoods of all those involved. Incidents like these can damage reputations and wreck lives, for the victims and their families, as well as those who are responsible. If you conduct operations at height, please take note of these regularly occurring tragedies, and avoid the same thing happening to you! Set the correct measures, follow them, and always use the correct equipment!

For all the latest H&S news and advice, follow us on Twitter.

09Mar2016

Personalised Hi-Vis Workwear

Admin health & safety

In any hazardous working environment, particularly those based outdoors, it's important to ensure the visibility of workers by providing them with the proper workwear. High visibility clothing is an essential item in many manual professions, and is also becoming increasingly popular in schools in order to prevent road traffic accidents involving children.

The amount of high visibility clothing required will depend on the lighting and weather conditions of the workplace, as well as the risks posed to the the individual. For example, those at risk from moving vehicles should wear full body hi-vis clothing to ensure that they are fully visible to drivers, as should those working at night. The item itself should also be suitable for the working conditions, and should not interfere with other safety precautions. An example of this would be warehouse workers, who should ensure that any loose fitting items are unable to get caught in machinery.

Over at SafetyLifeGear we provide a range of personalised PPE and workwear, all of which conforms to EU safety regulations, so that you can be assured that you are getting a high-quality, genuine piece of safety gear. Here are some of the essential items we stock:

Hi-Vis Vests

Over at SafetyLifeGear, we stock a comprehensive selection of hi-vis vests, in a vast array of sizes, styles and colours. Suitable for a wide age group and a range of operations, these vests can easily be worn over an individual's usual clothing to provide high visibility when required for a particular task. These vests can also be personalised to include company branding, so that the item is in-keeping with your brand and the rest of your company uniform.

Hi-Vis Jackets

Due to the fact that hi-visibility items are primarily required in outdoor work, it is vital that employers in these sectors are able to cater to changes in weather conditions in order to further guarantee the safety and well-being of their workers. For this reason, SafetyLifeGear provide a selection of Vi-Vis jackets for a number of purposes, providing suitable protection and ease of movement for each particular task.

Hi Vis Trousers

As noted above, certain types of work may require full coverage high visibility clothing, in order to ensure that workers in these professions are provided with the highest level of visibility possible. For this reason, SafetyLifeGear also supply a variety of hi-vis trousers and coveralls, each of which can also be branded in the same way as the rest of the high-vis range.

To see the full selection of high visibility workwear available, click here.

You can also follow SafetyLifeGear on Twitter here.

24Feb2016

Climbing Without a Safety Harness: Is This Becoming a Craze?

Admin health & safety

Recently there has been an influx of daredevils taking ridiculous safety risks and climbing high infrastructures with no safety equipment to protect them if they slip and fall.

In Australia, a man has been charged with trespassing after he scaled a 12 story construction crane. The 20-year-old can be seen dangerously walking across the arm of the crane. After some negotiation the police managed to get the man off the crane and took him to hospital because he seemed to be very disorientated after his climb.

Again, a daredevil in Australia, climbed up an 80 meter tower with no safety equipment. Half way through the climb the daredevil seems to be having some second thoughts about his climb as the tower becomes extremely rusty. However, he continues his climb with complete disregard to his safety, and gets more confident, taking the time to turn his camera around and address his video’s audience.

Reading these daredevil stories and watching their videos always make us feel uneasy. These structures are not designed to be climbed by non-professionals who are not wearing the correct safety equipment. All it takes is for someone to lose their footing on a rusty metal pole causing them to fall from an extreme height.

A fall from a relatively low height can cause serious injury to a person, so if you are climbing a structure 80 meters above ground with no safety equipment, there is a very slim chance that you will survive if you slip.

We know that a lot of our customers regularly work at height, and so we would just like to take a minute to remind you not to take on any work at height if you don’t have the correct safety equipment at your disposal. Using safety harnesses and fall arrest blocks can mean the difference between life and death, so please make sure you are using the correct safety equipment.

Here, at SafetyLiftinGear we are proud to stock a truly comprehensive range of specialist safety harnesses from basic safety harnesses through to the more specialist rope access and insulated harnesses specially designed for electricians. If are confident that we will have the exact safety harness that you require, however if you cant find the harness you are looking for please contact us on 0808 123 6969 or email us at sales@safteyliftingear.com.

12Feb2016

Company Fined After Carrying Out Dangerous Window Installation Work Eight Metres above a West End Street

Admin health & safety

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.

12Feb2016

Company Fined After Carrying Out Dangerous Window Installation Work Eight Metres above a West End Street

Admin health & safety