PLANT MACHINERY & SITE SAFETY
REIMAGINING WORKING AT HEIGHT
Samuel Butterworth, Business Development Manager UK & Ireland - LLA at JLG Power Towers, explains why the future of low-level access starts with challenging plant equipment and site safety habits.
Across construction, facilities management, maintenance, and fit-out projects, working at height with plant equipment, particularly at low levels, is a routine part of daily operations. For decades, organisations have relied on a mix of access methods, including ladders, podiums, scaffold, and platforms, each chosen according to the task at hand. However, as site safety culture evolves and a larger emphasis is placed on worker wellbeing, many are now taking a fresh look at the options available.
Modern low-level access (LLA) solutions are part of this plant fleet rethink. Not necessarily to replace traditional methods, but give decision makers and users more choice, more control, and more opportunities to work in ways that support long term health, productivity, and site safety processes.
THE SCALE OF THE ISSUE
Low-level access tasks may feel like a standard part of daily operations, but they carry significant risk. UK data continues to show the impact.
Over the last decade, an estimated 425,000 non-fatal falls from height have occurred and around 37,000 workers self-reported a fall related injury in the last annual period. Non-fatal falls from height result in approximately 688,000 lost working days per year, costing the economy around £850m. Falls from height can also prove fatal, and are the leading cause of death among workers, with 35 fatalities in 2024/25.
At the same time, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), often linked to repetitive reaching, constrained posture, and manual handling, affected more than 511,000 workers in 2024/25 and led to 7.1 million lost working days. These strains have great potential to occur in environments where workers regularly access ceilings, fixtures, or plant equipment at height.
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No particular type of equipment is to blame for these statistics. The causes may be multi-faceted. However, it is important to recognise that task intensity, frequency, and equipment ergonomics matter when it comes to protecting people. Modern solutions such as powered access equipment may help support reduced physical strain on people performing these tasks day after day, and can be useful additions to equipment fleets, contributing to improved site safety practices and a more predictable site environment.
WHAT IS LOW-LEVEL ACCESS?
When talking about low-level access, this typically refers to a working height of 5 metres and below. This may not sound like a high elevation when compared to equipment on the market that lifts more than 10 times that. However, this constitutes working at height for the purposes of safety. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guides that working at height means working
“OVER THE LAST DECADE, AN ESTIMATED 425,000 NON-FATAL FALLS FROM HEIGHT HAVE OCCURRED AND AROUND 37,000 WORKERS SELF-REPORTED A FALL RELATED INJURY IN THE LAST ANNUAL PERIOD.”
anywhere where, if no precautions are taken, a worker could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury.
Falls from height are not always ‘freak accidents’. They more often can be a symptom of a failure to take the right measures, whether that is training, equipment choice, or operator behaviour. Falls tend to be predictable outcomes of predictable habits, like overreaching, carrying tools while climbing, or working one handed to maintain balance.
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