Edge protection remains an issue with a minority of construction firms, according to a new report from the Health & Safety Executive.
Between February 18th and March 15th, unannounced visits to building sites by HSE inspectors revealed a limited number of edge protection concerns, along with other worries relating to working at height with a lack of suitable guardrails.
Philip White, HSE’s chief inspector of construction, says: “”Our inspectors encountered numerous examples of poor practice, from lack of edge protection on stairwells and scaffolding to unsafe storage of flammable materials.””
During the initiative as a whole, 2,363 sites were visited and 2,976 contractors in total were inspected by the HSE.
At 433 sites (18.3%), 631 enforcement notices were served – equivalent to more than one in five of the contractors inspected – and 451 of these demanded that work be halted immediately until action was taken.
In some circumstances, sites were found that had 17m drops with no guardrails in place, along with others where wheelbarrows were being rolled along narrow bridges made of planks, again with no guardrails.