With many years of experience in the field of height safety, we at SafetyLiftinGear are able to provide a fall protection system for virtually any project. Whatever your requirements, we have the products and the expertise to help your team stay safe while working at height.

We recently provided a set of custom safety lines for Centrica Business Solutions, who make combined heat and power (CHP) units for a range of different clients. Part of Centrica's manufacturing process requires access onto the roof of each CHP, so the company found themselves with an unavoidable need to work at height.

That's where we came we in. SafetyLiftinGear designed a bespoke support-post fall arrest system (combined with our G-Force monoline overhead safety line) to protect up to 14 simultaneous workers. Our fall protection specialists installed two safety lines with bespoke support posts to remove the roof slope and keep the safety line horizontal; we also attached another 5 overhead safety lines to the main structural steels.

The very smooth movement of the G-force monoline travelling trolley grants the worker free and uninterrupted movement as they go about their daily duties.

Here's what the production supervisor from Centrica CHP Manufacturing had to say about our custom safety line system:

"We had been looking for a fall arrest system to fit our needs for quite a while, once we spoke to SLG we were sure their solution would enable us to operate in as safe a manner as possible.

The feedback from the team using them has been great. They feel a lot safer than before, and the fall arrest blocks being above them means they aren’t in the way of the job at hand.

SLG will definitely be our first port of call should any future projects arise."

If you need a bespoke fall protection system to keep your workers safe, call SafetyLiftinGear on 0117 9381 600 to request a quotation.

Fall Protection Systems from SafetyLiftinGear.com

Despite these uncertain times, the team here at SafetyLiftinGear have been working extremely hard behind the scenes and are proud to announce that we now supply a range of Kratos Safety fall protection to help keep you safe when working at height! 

Based in France, Kratos Safety utilise a range of certified laboratories, designers and technicians to not only ensure that their range of safety equipment meets European safety standards but exceeds expectations when it comes to comfort, innovation and quality. Offering products from a variety of categories such as harnesses & belts, fall arresters, tool lanyards and rope access, Kratos is experienced in creating effective equipment that ensures your safety.

Here is a selection of the Kratos equipment available to buy from SLG today: 

Kratos 2-point Full Body Harness

Product Features: 

- Full body harness with 1 dorsal D-Ring and 1 sternal D-Ring on the sternal strap

- Adjustable shoulder & thigh straps

- Ideally positioned sit strap for extended comfort 

- Max User Weight: 140kg

- Conformity: EN361:2002

View Product >

Kratos Twin Retractable Webbing Fall Arrest Block

Product Features: 

- Retractable fall arrester with double aluminium casing and 2 webbing lanyards (2m)

- Includes 2x scaffold hooks at the anchorage end

- Webbing: 25mm

- Max Weight: 100kg

- Conforms to EN360:2002

View Product >

Kratos 300kg Load Arrestor

Product Features: 

- Load Arrestor with galvanised steel wire rope designed to stop the fall of a 300kg weight load

- Casing made of high impact strength polymer to prevent breakage

- Length: 10mtr

- Conforms to 2006/42/CE

View Product >

You can find our full range of Kratos Safety equipment right here.

For more information on our collection of Kratos Safety fall protection, then please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of the SLG team today, we'd love to hear from you! 

Contact Us >

We're pleased to announce that we have added a selection of Miller fall protection products to our height safety range.

Miller is a new generation of height safety equipment. All of their products are designed with your safety and comfort in mind, and they allow for expanded freedom of movement.

Here are some of the Miller products that are now available to order from SafetyLiftinGear.com:

Pictured above is the Miller Bodyfit full-body harness. With its breathable padding and Duraflex stretch webbing, it's incredibly comfortable to wear and perfect for electrical maintenance, telecommunications work, etc.

The Miller Bodyfit harness is long-lasting and very easy to put on and adjust.

More Miller harnesses:

• Miller 1032872 Duraflex H-Design Harness
• Miller 1032840 H-Design Rapco Harness

View All Miller Products

A construction firm has been fined after a 17-year-old worker fell through a skylight opening and suffered life-changing injuries. On 20 August 2018, the young worker fell through an insulation sheet covering a skylight while walking across an unmarked area on the construction site in Gloucester. He suffered multiple broken bones, which needed two operations to treat. His doctors advised him that it was unlikely he would be able to work in construction ever again. A potential career in construction was cut short by the neglect of another reckless employer.

HSE Findings

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that the employee was not supervised properly and was not warned about the risks on site. According to reports, there were no warnings in place about the hole in the roof, and no workers on site had been told about it. No further physical barriers were in place, either - any of these measures could have prevented this tragic accident.

The company failed to take the necessary precautions for working at height, and further investigation showed continued failures to properly and adequately plan constructions at that height (even after the incident in question). The Mark Holland Group pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations and were fined £55,620.

HSE inspectors highlighted how this accident could have been avoided with simple safety precautions, such as the correct height safety equipment.

Working at Height

It's essential for employers to take adequate fall protection measures and follow the health and safety regulations at all times. These safety guidelines are there to help employers comply with the law and prevent death and serious injury.

Employers should aim to carry out work on the ground where possible, or utilise scaffolding or mobile platforms that allow easy and safe access. Failing that, use fall protection equipment to restrain workers in the event of a fall and minimise the distance the individual falls to minimise the potential injury.

Read our blog about choosing the best fall protection equipment for your job.

We hope that employers see stories like this one and make more of an effort to prioritise health and safety to prevent further accidents.

Buy & Hire Height Safety Equipment   Our Bespoke Fall Protection Systems

Different types of work require different safety measures. Therefore, it is vital that when working at height, you are properly equipped to complete the specific task-at-hand. However, with so many different working environments, operations and equipment, it can be a challenge to know exactly what type of equipment is needed for what task. Here, we break down the features of working at height, what is required when doing so and the several different working conditions, providing the necessary equipment needed to carry out work in the safest possible way.

Working at Height

Managing work at height follows a hierarchy of controls – avoid, prevent, restrain, arrest, which begins with the question “can the work be done safely from the ground?” Fall arrest equipment should only be considered as a last resort if other safety equipment cannot be used. For situations where work cannot be completed from the ground collective protection equipment such as nets and railings must be considered first.

A common solution is utilising scaffolding or mobile platform (MEWP) that provide easy and safe access at height. If none of the above methods can be implemented, individual fall protection equipment safeguarding from falls must be used. i.e. restraint equipment.

The basic features of individual fall protection equipment protecting against a fall from height are:

RESTRAINT:

1. Using fixed length equipment to position the user ensuring it isn't possible to reach a position from which he/she may fall from a height.

FALL ARREST:

2. If a fall occurs, the equipment must minimise the distance and consequences of a fall.

Components of Fall Protection Equipment

All fall protection systems must comprise three basic components:

• An anchor point – Anchor points are the first and most important element of an individual fall protection system. They connect to the workplace and work to fasten the connecting safeguarding component to a support structure. Anchor points may be permanent such as horizontal safety line systems with a steel rope or mobile such as safety tripods. All anchor points must conform to the requirements of EN795:2012 and be installed and tested in accordance with BS7883.

• Energy-absorbing components – This part of the fall protection system connects the safety harness to the anchor point. In the case of a fall, the energy-absorbing component must arrest the fall and absorb the energy generated. The component absorbs kinetic energy and limits the impact force to 6kN or less, which reduces the risk of further injury by suddenly stopping the fall. Typical equipment used with this function are energy-absorbing lanyards or a fall arrest blocks.

• Full body harness – The main purpose of a full-body harness is to keep an individual’s body supported while falling and ensure secure distribution of dynamic forces produced while arresting the fall.

Types of Work

As mentioned, different work conditions consist of different height safety requirements and procedures as a result of the environment they occur in and the dangers involved. Here we take a look and break down the safety requirements for working on a roof, fragile surfaces, ladders and scaffolds and the correct equipment that is needed to carry out work safely.

Roof Work

All work on roofs is highly dangerous, even a job that can take only minutes to complete consist of potentially fatal risks. Therefore, proper precautions are needed to control all the risks that are involved. The individuals managing and conducting the work need to be properly trained, competent and must fully plan the work to be completed in relation to the main risks, causes of accidents and equipment required.

Falls from roofs, either through fragile surfaces and openings or from roof edges can occur on both commercial and domestic projects as well as new build and refurbishment jobs. Many deaths happen every year involving smaller buildings working on the roof of domestic dwellings, which tend to fall under two types:

• Slopings roofs – These roofs require scaffolding to prevent workers and materials from falling from the edge. You must also fit edge protection to the eaves of any roof and on terraced properties to the rear as well as the front. Where work is of short duration, properly secured ladders to access the roof, such as roof ladders, may be used.

• Flat roofs – Falls from flat roof edges can be prevented by simple edge protection arrangments – a secure double guardrail and toeboard around the edge.

Work on a fragile surface roof requires a combination of stagings, guard rails, fall arrest and safety nets slung beneath and close to the roof. All roofs should be treated as fragile until they have been confirmed as not. Fragile rooflights are also a hazard as some may be difficult to spot in certain light conditions or maybe hidden by paint. These areas must be protected by using either barriers or covers that are secured and labelled with a warning. Here at SLG, we provide a number of products that ensure when working on sloping and flat roofs, you are completely protected against falls. You can view our best products for working on flat roofs below.

Fall Arrest Harness >      Fall Arrest Block >

Ladders

Every time a ladder is used to carry out work at height, a pre-use check needs to be conducted to ensure that it is safe for use. This should be carried out by:

• The user
• Before using the ladder
• After the ladder has been dropped or moved from a dirty area to a clean area (conditions of feet need to be looked over)

The benefit of carrying out pre-use checks is to identify any immediate or serious defects that can cause an accident. The areas of most concern are the ladder’s stiles, feet and rungs. Once this has been completed and you are satisfied that the ladder is in good working condition, you must then ensure that all of the required safety precautions to carry out work whilst on the ladder are in place, including wearing the right equipment. At SafetyLiftinGear, we provide a range of secure ladder safety equipment that ensures your safety whilst working at height, including quality fall protection kits.

Ladder Safety Kit Level 1 >           Ladder Safety Kit Level 2 >

Scaffolds

Tower scaffolds are one method used to prevent a fall when working at height on a sloped roof. The type of scaffold selected needs to be suitable for the work and erected and dismantled by people who have been trained and are competent to do so. However, despite scaffolds existing to prevent a fall, dangers still exist once the scaffold has been set up, with many people injured each year as a result of falling from them. Incidents with scaffolds often occur as a result of dangerous methods of erection or dismantling, defects in the erected scaffold or the scaffold being misused. To ensure maximum safety whilst working on a scaffold, it is recommended that all workers wear appropriate protective equipment, such as specialist scaffold harnesses. You can view ours below!

Scaffold Harness Kit >

Mobile Elevated Working Platforms (MEWPS)

When using mobile elevated work platforms such as cherry pickers and access platforms, there are a number of safety precautions that need to be implemented in order to avoid and prevent falls from occurring. Such as:

• Wearing a suitable harness
• Only using the platform on level, firm ground
• Working with a trained operator at ground level
• Only using equipment with outriggers and stabilisers
• Keeping the platform within safe working limits and radius, taking account of wind speeds, beams, hanging obstructions and power cables

If all of these things are adhered to, then the likelihood of a fall or serious consequences as a result of a fall occurring is dramatically decreased. You can find our best-selling access platform harness below!

Safety Harness Kit For Access Platform >

In order to avoid potentially fatal falls when working at height, it’s vitally important that you understand the specific requirements of every task you carry out. The working environment needs to be assessed by competent and qualified people, who can identify dangers and hazards before they cause a real accident. When the work is actually being carried out, the importance of wearing the correct equipment as well as setting up the necessary safety precautions cannot be understated. As well as the above products, we supply a whole range of height safety equipment, perfect for a variety of operations at height. You can browse our extensive collection below.

Browse Height Safety Equipment >

If you have any questions regarding our range of height safety equipment or any of the listed products, please do not hesitate to contact us today.

A roofing company boss has been sentenced to jail after one of his builders fell 30ft to his death whilst working on a £7 million home in Kensington.

The owner of G&L Scaffolding and Roofing, Kevin Leathers, 41, had “flagrantly ignored” safety warnings when father-of-five Jon Currie, 36, was not wearing a harness when he fell, leading to “catastrophic brain damage” and ultimately his death in July 2017.

The experienced scaffolder lost his footing while taking down a temporary roof of corrugated iron panels. Leather pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees and was eventually jailed for eight months, having been previously warned about his employees working in dangerous conditions.

Prosecutors stated that Leathers had been sent a letter reminding him of strict health and safety requirements and that his working practices were “unsafe” when his crew were spotted working without safety harnesses. When Mr Currie fell, he and another worker were again not wearing safety harnesses and no risk assessment had been carried out to identify potential dangers. Curries was also not qualified for the job that he was doing that day. Prosecutor stated that Leathers “failed to exercise his duty of care and as a result, Jon Currie died while working for him. Leathers intentionally breached or flagrantly ignored the law.”

Passing sentence, Judge Joanna QC said “after the letter in April, Leather could not have been warned in clearer terms about the dangers of the activities undertaken. He failed to take appropriate steps. If death results from such failures you must expect to receive an immediate prisons sentence.”

Leather was charged with manslaughter by gross negligence after Curries fell working on an extension to a double-storey basement.

This is another example of the extreme dangers faced when work is carried without the required equipment. Here at SafetyLiftinGear, we provide quality, effective height safety equipment including harnesses, lanyard and fall arrest blocks that assure your safety when working at all heights. You can browse our range below!

Our Height Safety Equipment >

For more information on our height safety equipment or to speak to one of our experts about any of our products, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us today by calling 0117 9381 600 or emailing sales@safetyliftingear.com.

When working within the lifting industry, it is not uncommon to find certain operations requiring workers to work at height. Lifting equipment used within industries such as shipping, construction and engineering often involves significantly tall structures as well as smaller heights, both of which carry risks of harm if something were to go wrong. For this reason, it is imperative to have a height rescue plan in place to identify and avoid risks where possible and to react to problems should they ever occur. Here, we talk you through some of the things you can do to develop an effective height rescue plan.

The law and height safety

When it comes to working at height, there are very clear laws in place for people to follow. Previously, the law required that anybody working at a height greater than two metres would have to wear the correct personal protective equipment (PPE). However, the law has since changed and now states that PPE is required “where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury.”

While some say this new guideline can be open to some sort of interpretation, this can be defined as:

• If you could fall from the ground level through an opening or hole in the ground
• If you will be working above the ground/floor level
• If it’s possible to fall from an edge, through an opening or a fragile surface

Creating an effective height rescue plan

Before creating an effective height rescue plan, there are several considerations you will have to make. The first is to ensure you have the correct equipment and that it has all been fully inspected before use. Another is to ensure all staff members are properly trained to use all rescue equipment in the correct way. Once these things have been put into the place, you can then make a start on creating your rescue plan, which should include the following:

• The suitability of the equipment being used
• The safety of all those that will be involved in the rescue
• The anchor points for equipment being used
• How an individual will be attached to the rescue equipment
• How the equipment will be used to move an individual
• Any other requirements for the individual involved in the process

As part of your height rescue plan, you will have to conduct a thorough risk assessment of the site before any operation can begin. You will have to inspect any hazards that could be posed by the task and evaluate the risks involved. Falls from height are one of the most common causes of fatality in the UK each year, and for this reason alone, it is crucial that you have a rescue plan in place should anything go wrong.

How SLG can help

If you’re wondering how SafetyLiftinGear can help you create an effective height rescue plan, we have an extensive range of PPE and height rescue equipment that will ensure your rescue plan is carried out in the safest and most efficient way possible. A wide selection of our equipment is available for hire as well as full purchase and can be customised to match your exact rescue needs.

Browse Our PPE Collection >      Browse Our Rescue Equipment >

For more information, be sure to get in touch with a member of the SafetyLiftinGear team today by calling 0117 9381 600 or emailing sales@safetyliftingear.com!