When working at height, it is essential to use top-quality equipment that you know you can rely on. The first step to creating a safe and secure system for working at height is to use the best equipment - the second step is ensuring that you’re using it correctly!
More...
A Yorkshire roofing company and its director have been handed harsh sentences after failing to prevent the death of a worker who fell twelve metres through a storm-damaged skylight.
The incident occurred in December 2016. At that time, 39-year-old Jonathan May was working as a subcontractor for Davis Industrial Roofing Limited, who are based in Wakefield.
May and two others were working on the roof of a warehouse, replacing some skylights that had been damaged during a recent hailstorm. May fell through one of these skylights and dropped 12 metres (approx. 39 feet) to his death.
There’s a reason that carrying out risk assessments and wearing PPE is a legal requirement in the UK – unfortunately, some learn the importance of these necessities the hard way.
Craven and Nicholas Engineering Ltd has been fined after one of its employees fell through a roof when working at height in Boston. The worker in question fell through a fragile roof and fell 6 metres, sustaining injuries to his head and arm.
When it comes to material handling, the sack truck is a hard piece of equipment to beat. Sack trucks are a great tool that makes the manoeuvring of loads quick, easy, and can reduce the risk of injury during handling.
Although a sack truck is an incredibly useful tool, it’s important to ensure that you’re using it correctly. Incorrectly using a sack truck can be as potentially dangerous as trying to handle heavy loads without the appropriate equipment.
When it comes to working at height, there’s nothing more important than having top-quality, reliable equipment. It’s also important to regularly check your equipment to make sure that everything is in good condition – but how regularly are you legally required to have it inspected? Can you inspect it yourself? And how can you keep your equipment in the best possible condition?
Every workplace is different, and every career has different responsibilities; some people might be expected to do a large amount of manual handling and lifting daily, while some people might go for years lifting nothing more than a pen.
According to government legislation, manual handling is defined as: “the transporting or supporting of a load (including lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving) by hand or by bodily force.” Basically, it's the handling of any load whether you're lifting it, dragging it, pushing it, 'manual handling' covers the whole lot.
Here at SafetyLiftinGear, we understand the importance of safety in the workplace. No matter what environment you're working in, every individual deserves to feel safe while doing their job.
When it comes to working at height, there are a number of different rules and regulations that must be adhered to. Back in 2005, the UK government passed a piece of legislation titled 'The Work at Height Regulations 2005', which contains a lot of important information pertaining to working at height.
The Work at Height Regulations 2005
Although there is no shortage of literature on how to protect yourself and others when working at height, you may still be wondering exactly what 'working at height' means. How do you know if you're working at height? What work environments count as 'at height'?
If these are questions you've found yourself asking, read on!