It's easy to ignore health and safety regulations, especially when every newspaper in the country is printing stories about "elf and safety" and how it's ruining everybody's fun for no particular reason. In the past few months alone, we've seen selfie sticks, Christmas decorations, wedding rings, and sorts of other things banned by business owners and local authorities who cite health and safety as an excuse.

But these stories are absurd, and they should not be taken as a reflection of real H&S laws, which are in place to save lives and prevent injuries. These laws are tremendously important, and a few farcical news stories shouldn't permit you and your employees to ignore genuine H&S measures like safety harnesses and fall arrest systems.

Here, then, are three excellent reasons to abide by health and safety regulations (and height safety regulations in particular):

1. You could be prosecuted. An engineering company in South Wales was recently fined £20,000 after a welder fell two metres and ended up on crutches for nine weeks. And it won't necessarily stop with a fine; other offenders have served time in prison.
   
   
2. You could be prosecuted, even if no accidents occur. In a previous blog post, we told you about a Berkshire firm who received a £10,000 fine after somebody took a photograph of their unsafe work. Nobody was hurt, and no accidents occurred, but the company was fined anyway because they had endangered people's lives. Which brings us to reason #3...
   
   
3. People could die. Really, this should be the only reason you need. If you don't observe basic health and safety laws - which, as we mentioned above, are simply there to protect people - then people could lose their lives, and you'll be responsible for it.

Visit SafetyLiftinGear's Height Safety department now and make sure you have all the safety equipment you need.

Safety Harnesses are quite simply an essential part of safety equipment for anyone working at height. SafetyLiftinGear's range of safety harnesses are high-quality, durable, comfortable and even somewhat stylish - as far as safety harnesses can go, that is! A safety harness from SafetyLiftinGear is the Rolls Royce of height safety equipment, and you might get a little attached to yours! Not convinced? Take a look at our humorous G-Force Harnesses video, and let us know what you think.  

Fall protection systems are essential when working at height. Indeed, falling from height can result in fatality or at the very least cause extreme injuries. If you're working at height, it is your employer's responsibility to ensure the correct fall protection systems are in place not only for themselves and their workers, but for the families of their staff too. 

Tragic accidents when working at height cost the UK economy in excess of £800million every year. This combined with the potential loss of lives means it really is essential for businesses to get the appropriate fall protection systems in place to keep their working sites in good order. 

SafetyLiftinGear offer a variety of fall arrest equipment, from Permanent Horizontal & Vertical Safety Lines and Rail Anchorage Systems, to Guided Fall Arresters. Indeed, we offer every type of fall protection equipment to completely secure your working site and minimise the risk of dangerous falls from height. 

Permanent Horizontal Safety Line System - Duo 

However, simply purchasing the appropriate fall protection systems is not enough to ensure your working site is free from risk. These fall arrest products must be installed and secured properly for them to be completely effective, which is why SafetyLiftinGear also offer expert installation services for permanent fall protection systems to ensure your fall arrest equipment is in place properly and working properly. 

Click here to see our comprehensive range of fall protection systems, or call 0808 123 69 69 to ask about our permanent fall protection system installation services. 

Why are fall protection systems necessary?

Fall protection systems are essential when working at height. Indeed, falling from height can result in fatality or at the very least cause extreme injuries. If you're working at height, it is your employer's responsibility to ensure the correct fall protection systems are in place not only for themselves and their workers but for the families of their staff too. 

Tragic accidents when working at height cost the UK economy in excess of £800million every year. This combined with the potential loss of lives means it really is essential for businesses to get the appropriate fall protection systems in place to keep their working sites in good order. 

Our fall protection systems:

SafetyLiftinGear offers a variety of fall arrest equipment, from Permanent Horizontal & Vertical Safety Lines and Rail Anchorage Systems to Guided Fall Arresters. Indeed, we offer every type of fall protection equipment to completely secure your working site and minimise the risk of dangerous falls from height. 

However, simply purchasing the appropriate fall protection systems is not enough to ensure your working site is free from risk. These fall arrest products must be installed and secured properly for them to be completely effective, which is why SafetyLiftinGear also offer expert installation services for permanent fall protection systems to ensure your fall arrest system is in place and working properly. View all of the different fall protection systems we offer by clicking the button below:

View All Fall Protection Systems Here >

Health and safety regulations can sometimes seem like they were designed just to inconvenience people, rather than to save their lives. This impression isn't helped by the journalists who seem to take great pleasure in writing about absurd 'elf and safety' stories that make the whole practice look like a joke - trees being cut down for no good reason, people being ordered to remove their Christmas decorations, and so forth.

But, in spite of all this, health and safety is there for a crucial purpose: to keep people safe from harm. It isn't hard to quantify the importance of this; for every cringeworthy story about 'health and safety gone mad', there are half a dozen about somebody who was seriously injured or even killed by H&S oversights. If, for example, you were to Google height safety (something of a speciality for the SafetyLiftinGear team), you'd be rewarded with the following horror stories (all of which are from the last week or so):

• A man in Kettering punctured a lung and broke several bones after falling more than 13 feet from a recycling cabin onto a concrete floor. His employers were fined £9,000.
  
  
• A construction firm in Berkshire was recently fined £10,000 after a local resident photographed the firm's employees working on a roof without anything standing between them and a fall of almost 20 feet.
  
  
• Another £10,000 fine was handed out to a Cheshire-based homebuilder last week after a plasterer fell through an unguarded opening and fell nearly 10 feet to the floor below, cracking two vertebrae.

As you can see, poor health and safety practices really are everywhere, and it's high time for businesses like those mentioned above to sort it out.

For starters, then: if you or your employees are ever carrying out any work at height, ensure that the correct height safety equipment is in place. As we've seen, this could prevent some serious injuries, not to mention some major fines.

When working at great heights, it is not only vitally important to secure your own safety, but to consider the safety of others who may be around or below you also. If you were to drop any tools from a height they could cause serious harm to anyone below, but of course there is a way to ensure that doesn't happen! Our professional, durable and strong range of Tool Lanyards can prevent you dropping your tools, and thus minimising the likelihood of a serious injury occurring to anyone below you. 

Tool Safety Lanyard Poster: £2.99 

Unfortunately, falling tools is a hazard often not considered by those working at height - because naturally, their height safety is the first thing on their minds. A wrench or a spanner dropped from great height could cause property damage and injury at the very least - so this is an imperative consideration that simply must be made to honour height safety whilst working. Our tool lanyards will stop any tools from falling, and we have a variety of tool lanyard types to meet your personal comfort. We have tool lanyards which attach to your wrist or belt, as well as elasticated and retractable tool lanyards. 

If you work at height, a tool lanyard should be essential, so make sure you pick yours up today to ensure the safety of yourself as well as those around you. 

When working at great heights, it is not only vitally important to secure your own safety, but to consider the safety of others who may be around or below you also. If you were to drop any tools from a height they could cause serious harm to anyone below, but of course there is a way to ensure that doesn't happen! Our professional, durable and strong range of Tool Lanyards can prevent you dropping your tools, and thus minimising the likelihood of a serious injury occurring to anyone below you. 

Unfortunately, falling tools is a hazard often not considered by those working at height - because naturally, their height safety is the first thing on their minds. A wrench or a spanner dropped from great height could cause property damage and injury at the very least - so this is an imperative consideration that simply must be made to honour height safety whilst working. Our tool lanyards will stop any tools from falling, and we have a variety of tool lanyard types to meet your personal comfort. We have tool lanyards which attach to your wrist or belt, as well as elasticated and retractable tool lanyards. 

If you work at height, a tool lanyard should be essential, so make sure you pick yours up today to ensure the safety of yourself as well as those around you.