A water storage tank manufacturing firm was recently fined thousands of pounds for failing to prevent a fall that left an employee with multiple fractures of the head, ribs, fingers and shoulder blade.

SHP Online recently reported that Braithwaite Engineers Ltd had been fined £9,400 - plus costs of £1,680.75 - after pleading guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) noted that the fall, which occurred in October 2017, might have been prevented if the company had provided suitable and clear instructions and working at height training.

HSE Inspector Will Powell stated:

"Falls from vehicles can be overlooked by employers...[but] simple measures would have prevented this accident."

Fall Protection for Lorry Beds

Working on a lorry bed can be dangerous if there's no barrier around the edges of the platform.

Here at SafetyLiftinGear, we sell lorry edge protection straps to help you minimise the risk to your employees while they're working on an elevated lorry bed.

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These high-visibility straps are easy to attach, and they reduce the likelihood that a worker will fall off the edge of the lorry and injure him/herself.

Our RJ200 hangman frame lorry / container access anchor is also ideal for improving worker safety on raised lorry beds.

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This frame can be used as a semi-permanent mobile anchor point for safety harnesses when working at height. It stands roughly 6.25 metres tall and allows for a working radius of 3 metres (approximately 9.84 feet).

Please call SafetyLiftinGear on 0117 9381 600 or contact us online if you'd like to discuss your height safety requirements. We're more than happy to recommend products, and we can even provide bespoke fall protection solutions for particularly demanding or unusual jobs.

The dangers of working at height have hit the headlines once again this week after two companies were heavily fined for putting their workers' safety at risk.

According to industry watchdog, Safety & Health Practitioner, an incident in April 2016 saw pipe repair workers in Bilston exposed to significant risk during a job at a warehouse owned by James Durrans & Sons Ltd.

The contractors, working for Kingswinford Engineering Co Ltd, were hired to fix pipework on the roof of the warehouse; however, the conditions provided were shockingly reckless, posing a variety of dangers for those working on the job.

No Safety System

The nature of the task required workers to be hoisted to the roof in a forklift man-cage; however, the forklift fell short of the roof, leaving a three-foot gap.

The roof was then only accessible by climbing from the cage to the roof. Worse still, the roof itself was said to be slippery and wet with no protective barrier in place to prevent a fall.

An investigation by the HSE concluded that neither the warehouse owners or the repair company had conducted a proper risk assessment and no safety system had implemented for the job.

The Price of Safety

The HSE findings highlighted that both James Durrans & Sons Ltd and Kingswinford Engineering Co Ltd had assumed the other had the safety procedures covered.

This gross negligence led both parties to plead guilty to breaching sections of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

The result saw Kingswinford Engineering fined to the tune of £18k with costs of £9k, while Durrans & Sons were fined an even heftier £100k with costs of £20k.

Proper Precautions

The news story highlights the importance of worker/contractor safety on site and the financial ramifications associated with such an oversight.

Despite the lofty fines levied against both companies involved, the price could have been far steeper should an accident have occurred.

If you or your company are involved in working at height, suitable and appropriate fall protection measures are a must – it could save a life.

For more information on fall arrest and fall protection, call now on 0117 9381 600 or get in touch online using the button below.

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What is the leading cause of deaths in the workplace? Short Answer: falls from height count for more than a quarter of workplace fatalities in Great Britain, making falls the biggest cause of workplace deaths.

Workplace Deaths in the UK

According to the latest statistics from the Health & Safety Executive, approximately 26% of fatal workplace injuries in Great Britain are the result of a fall from height. Between 2013 and 2018, more workers died from a fall than died from:

• Being struck by a moving vehicle (18%)
• Being trapped under a collapsed/overturned object (9%)
• Coming into contact with moving machinery (9%)

Falls from height also accounted for around 8% of non-lethal accidents in British workplaces during the same period.

How can I protect workers from falls?

The above statistics have prompted calls for more stringent safety laws, but it's worth noting that The Work at Height Regulations 2005 already require work at height to be properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner by competent personnel only.

Read More: What Height Safety Equipment is Legally Required?

Perhaps the real problem is that too many employers don't take the existing regulations seriously until an accident has already happened. If you and/or your employees work at potentially dangerous heights, you may require one or more of the following systems to keep them safe:

• Safety Harnesses
• Lanyards
• Fall Arrest Blocks
• Portable Man Anchors
• Deadweight Anchor Systems

Here at SafetyLiftinGear.com, we specialise in high-quality height safety equipment that protects workers from potentially deadly falls. Contact us today to get a quote for your fall protection needs, or use the links below to browse our full range of height safety products.

Height Safety Equipment >   Fall Protection Hire >

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Fall arrest blocks are an essential piece of equipment for safety when working at height or below ground, designed to help minimise the risk of injury or sometimes fatal accidents. Working in these conditions without appropriate safety measures in place such as a fall arrest system not only puts your own safety at danger but others' too.  

Fall arrest blocks are made up of a retractable lifeline, made from either a synthetic rope or steel cable, which retracts up onto a reel stored within a protected housing. This housing is often manufactured from an anti-corrosive metal but in some cases, they can be made from plastic, like some of our G-Force Arrest Blocks, meaning that they are more lightweight and easier to carry. With portability being a real positive with plastic arrest blocks, one of the potential issues that may occur over time is damage as a result of the conditions that they're exposed to. This may propose a new element of risk as you should never use faulty or damaged safety equipment for obvious reasons. 

One way you can combat this potential problem, however, is with a Weather Cover! These handy accessories are designed to protect your fall arrest block against extreme weather conditions and prolong the life of the retractable line. Perfect if you find yourself working outside in an area or country (like the UK) that always seems to be subject to abject weather. Take a look below to see some of the Weather Covers available for our G-Force Arrest Blocks!

Fall Arrest Weather Covers

Weather Cover for G-Force Fall Arrest Blocks

Product Features:

. Clear transparent design allows Block to always been seen

. Dimensions - 500 x 335mm

. Suitable for the following G-Force Arrest Blocks: AH210/AH220/WR025/CR30/WR100/CR200/CR250

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Weather Cover for G-Force CR300 Fall Arrest Block

Product Details:

. Clear transparent design allows Block to always been seen

. Dimensions - 500 x 390mm

. Suitable for the G-Force CR300 20mtr, 25mtr & 28mtr Fall Arrest Blocks

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**Please note that Fall Arrest Blocks are sold separately** Click below to view our full range of Fall Arrest Blocks.

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For more information on our collection of Weather Covers, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our customer services team today by calling 0117 9381 600 or emailing us at sales@safetyliftingear.com - we'd be happy to help!

A scaffolding company located in Dorset has been sentenced after a 49-year old worker fell victim to serious, life-changing injuries as a result of falling five metres through a skylight whilst working.

Paul Norris was working for Solar Scaffold Services Limited, who were contacted to erect an access tower and guard rails on the roof perimeter of industrial units in Christchurch during April 2017. On completion of the work on the access tower, Mr Norris proceeded to assist his co-workers with work on the guard rails, gaining access via the roof. As he was doing this, Mr Norris fell through a skylight which was approximately five metres above the floor and suffered a number of serious injuries to his arm, elbow, wrists, ribs and pelvis as a result. 

Following the injuries, Mr Norris remained in the hospital for three weeks, undergoing several operations with much physiotherapy still required. This has resulted in him being registered disabled, forced to move into an adapted flat, the inability to return to work and his wife having to give up work in order to provide full-time care.

Following an investigation conducted by the HSE, it was found that the employer Solar Scaffold Services Limited, failed in their duty to provide adequate safety measures, through poor planning, supervision and execution. Insufficient measures were taken to prevent the fall whilst work was carried out on the fragile roof.

This has resulted in Solar Scaffold Services Limited pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and being fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of more than £3,000.

HSE Inspector Caroline Penwill stated after the hearing that "falls from height remain one of the most common causes of work-related fatalities and injuries in this country. This serious incident could have been avoided if the work had been properly planned to reduce risk."

To ensure you are properly protected whilst working at height, take a look at our range of Height Safety Equipment by clicking below - if you have any questions regarding any of our products, then please contact us today!

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A safety harness can be worn when working at height in order to keep you safe from falls. In a typical height safety setup, the harness is attached to a secure anchor point via a lanyard.

There are many different types of safety harness – read on to learn about some of the most common kinds.

When working at height, a safety lanyard connects a harness to a secure anchor point, preventing the wearer from falling to the ground.

There are two types of safety lanyard, and it's important to know the difference between them.

Restraint Lanyard vs. Fall Arrest Lanyard

A restraint lanyard is designed to prevent falls by prohibiting the wearer from reaching a hazardous position where a fall might occur. For example, one may wear a safety harness and a restraint lanyard while working on an aerial work platform - the length of the lanyard will have been specifically chosen to keep the wearer safely on the platform.

A fall arrest lanyard must be used in situations where fall hazards cannot be avoided. Fall arrest lanyards have an energy-absorbing element that, in the event of a fall, reduces the impact force exerted on the wearer's body and the anchoring point.

More Information: Fall Arrest vs. Fall Restraint

What Are Safety Lanyards Made Of?

Restraint lanyards (which, remember, are intended to stop people reaching a position where a fall could occur) are typically made of kernmantle rope. Our kernmantle rope lanyards have a minimum breaking strength of 22kN.

We can also supply lanyards with elasticated webbing to help reduce possible trip/snagging hazards.

Both types of lanyard can be purchased from SafetyLiftinGear's Lanyards department.

Connectors

A safety lanyard may be supplied with a variety of different connectors, including:

• Screw gate karabiner
• Automatic locking gate
• Scaffold hook
• Thimble eye

Maximum Lifespan

The G-Force lanyards we sell here at SafetyLiftinGear have a maximum lifespan of 10 years from the date of manufacture (assuming that you use and store the product correctly and subject it to regular, thorough examinations). This maximum lifespan should not be exceeded, and the equipment must be removed from service once the 10-year period has elapsed.

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