Friends in high places01 March 2008

Falls from height are the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the predominant causes of major injury in the UK. According to HSE statistics, 2006/07 falls from height accounted for 45 fatal accidents at work and 3,350 major injuries.

The Working at Height Regulations 2005 apply to all operations at height where there is a risk of a fall liable to lead to personal injury - and that includes working below ground. 'The regulations set out a simple hierarchy for managing and selecting equipment for working at height,' explains Andrew Wright, training manager at the Morris Material Handling Training Institute.

'In simplified form, they say avoid working at height, unless it's absolutely necessary. However, if it cannot be averted, adopt the most suitable method

of working and select the most applicable equipment. Have measures in place to arrest the fall and always give priority to collective protection measures, such as safe systems of working, guard rails and platforms, over personal protection, such as safety harnesses.'

Another training organisation, SETA (Southampton Engineering Training Association), works with service engineers who, in the course of their operations, deal with various access problems. SETA health and safety consultant Peter Millington says he's seen several worrying trends, not the least of which have been site rules banning the use of ladders. 'Many organisations have justified reasons for this policy, but others may have simply created a situation where a tower scaffold or MEWP [mobile elevating work platform] is no longer practical. As a result, the ?no ladders' policy has encouraged some dangerous improvised mountaineering,' he says.

Mountain to climb
'Possibly of most concern is the number of people who are required to wear safety harnesses without any training on the capabilities of the equipment, its inspection, application or limitations,' adds Millington. 'The result can be a worker who is apparently compliant, but hooked on to an inadequate anchor or no anchor point at all. Also, an emergency rescue plan for a dangling ?victim' is often not considered or recognised as a necessity.'

Nevertheless, ladders continue to be a major contributor to workplace falls from height. It's easy to see why: they are light, easily transported and convenient to use. A maintenance engineer who needs to replace an expired fluorescent tube quickly, for example, may well be tempted to reach for a ladder. However, it is easy to come unstuck, if the regulator can show that it was reasonably practicable to use an alternative platform, such as a portable tower or extendable aluminium trellis.

Ladders accounted for 31% of the 2006/07 fatalities resulting from workplace falls from height and 34% of all major injuries. As a consequence, the HSE recently instigated its Ladder Exchange scheme, working with hirers such as SGB Hire, Speedy Hire and HSS Hire, which saw 4,194 poor condition ladders removed from Britain's workplaces last year. The good news is that HSE will be running another Ladder Exchange initiative this autumn.

With many workplace falls from height instigating compensation claims, it comes as no surprise to learn that companies supplying insurance, inspection services and risk engineering solutions have a useful insight into the problem. 'When working at exceptional heights, operators recognise they are at risk and tend to take appropriate measures,' states Tim Mapstone, health and safety quality manager at Allianz Engineering. 'In my experience, the biggest issues surround ?low falls'. Here, the risks are less apparent and people try to ?get away with it' for all sorts of reasons - to get the job done, to finish work early, or to assist the client.'

Beyond the comfort zone
It's a salutary point, however, that working at height equipment aimed at improving safe access can bring its own dangers. 'Mobile elevating work platforms do overturn, they do trap people and people fall out of the basket,' warns Mapstone. 'One of our operators used to use a ladder to gain access to an overhead travelling crane. He asked the client to hire a mobile scaffold tower to gain safer access to the bridge. Unfortunately, he got the tower caught in the crane's electric cables and nearly toppled the scaffold.'

Many workplace falls from height also occur when employees have been asked to work outside their normal areas of operation, to carry out work for which they have not been trained. This is a problem observed by PASMA (Prefabricated Access Suppliers and Manufacturers Association), the trade association for the mobile tower industry, which has been working with the HSE to promote competence and best practice.

PASMA is supporting the HSE's ?Shattered Lives' campaign, aimed at ensuring that people have the knowledge to complete tasks safely, by offering discounts on tower training. Being able to properly inspect a tower is an important aspect of the Work at Height Regulations, says the organisation, recounting an incident when the welds at both ends of a load-bearing crossbar failed, allowing a platform to fall. The tower supplier was not a PASMA member, having failed to satisfy the association's entry criterion of certification to BS EN 1004.

Nick Wilson, a chartered member of IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health) and a consultant with Weightmans Solicitors, warns: 'Powered access equipment, including scissor lifts, self-propelled booms and vehicle-mounted platforms offer a safer alternative to scaffolding, but they are not without problems. The potential for misuse can lead to overturning, a situation often caused by the failure to deploy outriggers. Inside the cage, you'll also have to decide, by way of risk assessment, whether operators must wear a harness and fall-restraint device.'

Much the same is true of guard rails. They provide a robust means of fall prevention until the operator decides to stand on the top rail to gain that extra reach. 'Make sure that, if using a lanyard, there is sufficient distance for the mechanism to deploy and safely arrest the fall,' adds Wilson. 'Also, be sure to use the appropriate fixing point within the cage and note that this may only be designed for fall-restraint, as opposed to fall-arrest PPE [personal protective equipment].'

He also agrees that operators must attend appropriate training. Courses such as those offered by the International Powered Access Federation, leading to the award of a powered access licence that identifies the categories of machine he/she is trained to use, go a long way to demonstrate compliance.

Nasar Farooq, health and safety expert at business consultant Croner, stresses the importance of risk assessments for operations involving working at height, and for clear plans for emergency and rescue situations before work begins. 'This is critical in engineering facilities where the work may be taking place above machinery and/or chemical storage areas,' he states.

Don't get boxed in
A number of people are killed or seriously injured in confined spaces each year in the UK. This happens in a wide range of industries, from those involving complex plant to simple storage vessels. Those killed include not only people working in the confined space itself, but also those who attempt a rescue operation, without proper training or equipment.

The Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 cover any space of an enclosed nature where there is a risk of death or serious injury from hazardous substances or dangerous conditions. Such spaces could include storage tanks, silos, reaction vessels, enclosed drains, sewers, vats, furnace combustion chambers or ducts.

'Access to confined spaces is something that should only be attempted by following a safe system of work,' states Phil Grace, casualty risk manager at Norwich Union. 'Certain sectors, such as utilities companies and the chemical industry, have well established procedures. Their safe systems of work ensure that atmosphere testing takes place before entry, that workers are properly trained, that emergency procedures are understood and implemented as necessary, and that rescue and retrieval equipment and procedures are in place if needed.'

Points
- Legislation suggests avoiding working at height, unless it's essential
- It also requires that proper measures are in place to arrest any falls
- Ladders accounted for 31% of the 2006/2007 fatalities resulting from workplace falls from height
- ?No ladder' policies, while understandable, can result in more dangerous situations
- Mobile elevating work platforms do overturn, they do trap people and people do fall out of the basket
- Being able to inspect an MEWP properly is as important as knowing how to operate one

Making light work
Plant engineers will be familiar with the risks surrounding maintenance of high bay lighting and there are now alternatives to ladders and MEWPs here. Panasonic, for example, offers its Luxlift automated system for lowering and raising lighting fixtures weighing from 5?100kg, and catering for installed units up to 25m from floor level.

At the flick of a switch, or by using its SVS wireless remote control, an unskilled operator can lower a fixture from high or inaccessible spaces to a convenient, safe level for lamp replacement or other maintenance.

The system also ensures that all power is isolated from the lamp and other parts of the fixture, so that lamp change can be done in total electrical and physical safety, both for personnel and machinery below the fixture. Luxlift is already finding extensive use throughout the UK in production halls, refrigerated warehouses, distribution centres and train stations.

On a more everyday level, the range of ZAP III Z600 platform steps, from Zarges, now features a large footprint and integral railing, to give easy and safe access for working at height with both hands free. ZAP III offers an adjustable platform that can be set between 400 and 1,200mm.

SOE

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