SLIPS, TRIPS & FALLS


HHTAE


Despite a steady decline, falls from height remain the most common kind of workplace fatality. In 2010/11, a total of 38 workers died and 4,327 employees suffered a major injury as a result of a fall from height in the workplace, with a further 10,232 employees suffering an over-three-day long injury. In response to this, the Access Industry Forum (AIF) will be attending the Safety & Health Expo in May to give their advice on how these falls can be prevented.


AIF, the Forum for all the principal trade associations and federations involved in working at height, will once again be a major contributor to the annual Safety & Health Expo.


The event, which is held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on the 15th -17th of May, is scheduled to have over 50 separate presentations, discussions, debates and demonstrations over the course of the exhibition. Against this background, the Forum will be running its Working at Height Knowledge Base, Live Zone and Information Centre over the three days of the show. Its message will be clear: “Work safely and competently at height using appropriate equipment with personnel professionally trained to industry recognised standards.”


A key outcome of the much- discussed Lofstedt Review was the recommendation that the Work at Height Regulations and associated guidance should be reviewed by April 2013. The regulations are central to much of the work of the


34


AIF’s member organisations, and both the review and the regulations will be the subject of a lively and informative panel discussion on day one in the Knowledge Base. Representatives from the construction industry and specialist trades will also join the Forum to discuss and debate the recommendations, which, Professor Lofstedt admits himself, have drawn flack from some quarters.


Other panel discussions planned for the Knowledge Base include ‘Is Claim to Blame?’ (an examination of whether the current claim culture can ever be brought under control) and ‘CD… erM?’ which will examine how the CDM Regulations apply to working at height.


Last, but by no means least, the Knowledge Base will feature an update on the quest started last year to eradicate working at height accidents for ever. ‘On the Trail of the Holy Grail’ is scheduled for midday on the third day. Joining the Forum will be IOSH, IIRSM, RoSPA, the British Safety Council and HSE (to be confirmed). Each day will end with a


half-hour ‘Ask the Experts’ session sponsored by the Forum.


A new feature for 2012 will be the AIF Live Zone. Dedicated entirely to member organisations, it will play host to wall-to- wall presentations and demonstrations (including the screening of live action videos!) highlighting best practice when using anything from ladders and towers to scaffolding and mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs).


In the Information Centre the Forum will showcase its seven new Toolbox Talks, which offer pragmatic advice and guidance and can be viewed for free on the Forum’s website. With a running time of approximately 10 minutes, and complete with a short online questionnaire to assess understanding, the free videos have been described as an innovative way of getting key messages and guidance about how to work at height safely over to a wider audience.


The new videos, which now number 16 in total on the





Forum’s website, include: NASC: Explaining scaffold handover certificates and scaffold inspections, PASMA: Fall protection in mobile access towers, Ladder Association: Using stepladders and step stools and IPAF: The dangers of not using spreader pads with outriggers.


Established in 2004, the Forum currently has nine member organisations; The Association of Technical Lightning & Access Specialists (ATLAS); Edge Protection Federation (EPF); Fall Arrest Safety Equipment Training (FASET); International Powered Access Federation (IPAF); Ladder Association (LA); National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC); Prefabricated Access Suppliers’ and Manufacturers’ Association (PASMA); Specialist Access Engineering and Maintenance Association (SAEMA) and Work at Height Safety Association (WAHSA).


www.accessindustry forum.org.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60