WORKING AT HEIGHT
Thinking Outside The Box
Jessica Wade from working at height specialists Height Lift & Shift discusses recent trends they have seen from hygiene teams in manufacturing plants and how virtually any working at height application can be made safer and more efficient with the use of the correct equipment.
In the last few years we have seen a huge growth in the number of manufacturers that we are working with in our business. The government is pushing the manufacturing sector to produce more, export more, improve productivity, and help to rebalance our economy in this time of recovery. Recently manufacturing has been highly visible, with every political party leader attending one plant or another in the run up to last month’s General Election, and it is more important than ever that our manufacturing sector is as productive as possible; indeed it is essential that we work smart if we are to compete with other nations and continue to grow the sector. This just might explain why more companies are seeking outside help to ensure they have safe, efficient working practices, and a minimum amount of downtime in their facilities.
In the food industry, of course downtime is somewhat inevitable, with cleaning and sanitisation schedules that are regulatory and must be adhered to. In addition to regulation, consumers are increasing the pressure, with the horse meat scandal of 2013 and the more recent campylobacter scares, consumers want to know not only where their food is coming from but also what processes it has undergone before it reaches their table. As if all that weren’t enough to contend with, the
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FSA brought in new food allergen legislation in 2013 which, though it doesn’t relate specifically to manufacturers, has further increased the visibility of issues of contamination in the food chain.
The challenge for many of the manufacturers we have been working with is that their facilities are plant- dense, with very little room around the essential equipment of their business to enable access above or around the machines. We carried out some research last year with partner companies where we found that 90% of all tasks that involved working at height were performed at some point using ladders or unofficial access. The same research also highlighted that ladders, let alone a chair, desk, or pallet, are often not the most appropriate solution, especially where a load needs to be carried up to height. The hygiene teams we work with are frequently using wet cleaning methods and need to get buckets of solution up with them, in this situation ladders are generally not the best method, but ladders are often favoured because plant managers and hygiene managers assume there isn’t room for anything else.
That’s where getting some outside help can become invaluable, we can frequently signpost managers to equipment that will not only make
their operatives safer when working at height, but can also improve productivity. One customer we worked with had to assign two people to any task that involved ladders or steps on the manufacturing floor, one to do the work, the other to foot the ladder. We introduced a simple piece of equipment, in this case the Hugo Lift, which meant that now only one person was required – the one who was actually going to do the job. Sometimes this insight can only come from an external company; a person or organisation that isn’t embedded within your industry but has experience across multiple sectors, that person can bring ideas from other industries and knowledge from their own sector to introduce solutions you might not be aware of.
The take-home message is this: Don’t let your colleagues or employees use inappropriate equipment for working at height because you assume there is no other method, speak to a specialist, consult with external advisors, and then you can be certain you have fulfilled both your legal obligations under the Health & Safety At Work act, and your moral obligation to look after the welfare of those around you. As a bonus you might just find something that not only keeps people safe, but also delivers some efficiency savings.
www.hls.co www.tomorrowscleaning.com
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