Having edge protection in place from day one does not have to be a challenge; with simple precautions like man anchors and temporary guard rails, it’s easy to adopt safer working at height practices while you set up your new premises. Likewise, edge protection – whether temporary or permanent – is an essential factor in […]
We often report about the risks of working at height, and especially on roofs, where a lack of guardrails can lead to falls from the edge, while fragile skylights can also give way underfoot. But you might not expect to face a substantial fall risk when stepping through the front door of a property under […]
An absence of fall prevention measures such as guardrails, man anchors and edge protection has led to a £1,200 fine with over £1,000 in costs for a Bedford-based roofing contractor. The defendant was served with a Prohibition Notice after he was seen working on reroofing a motor company’s premises in Bedford’s Manton Lane, without any […]
The HSE has urged construction companies to make sure they use guardrails and man anchors to protect all workers who need access to partially constructed scaffolds, following one avoidable incident in early 2015. On February 23rd, a 39-year-old man was dismantling the second lift of a scaffold at a site in East Anglia, on a […]
Suitable guardrails to ensure safe working at height may have been just one of many measures needed on an Altrincham building site. According to a HSE report, a Cheshire builder was converting a shop on Kingsway into three apartments across three different floors. In November 2013, the HSE were first alerted to potential safety risks […]
Falls from height remain one of the biggest workplace killers – meaning there is no excuse for an absence of guardrails on raised platforms, according to the HSE. In a recent incident report, the HSE explains that a Warwickshire man suffered severe injuries including a brain bleed when he fell four metres from a raised […]
A man has been fined after the lack of guardrails on a construction site that was his responsibility left passing members of the public at risk. The Birmingham construction client failed to install adequate edge protection on a first-floor site, and with no guardrails, there was nothing to stop escaped objects from falling on to […]
Holding a fire evacuation safety drill should be a positive step in terms of protecting employees – but not when setting up the simulated environment for the drill involves working 9m from the ground without guardrails, safe access or man anchors. A berth at Chatham Docks was the location in February 2014 for just such […]
An incident in which a heavy metal beam fell into a busy London street could have been prevented had adequate guard rails been in place to stop loose items from being able to drop off of the sides of the structure. The October 2011 incident saw a 32kg beam fall from six storeys high, first […]
An incident at a hospital mental health ward has highlighted the importance of guardrails on elevated positions around hospital grounds. Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has been fined following the incident at Boston Pilgrim Hospital’s Ward 12, which occurred in March 2013. A 26-year-old man was detained under the Mental Health Act, but despite a […]