NEBOSH
The company is approved by RenewableUK (RUK) and
the Global Wind Organisation (GWO) for the range of
courses available to the renewable industry. The training
MRS Training & Rescue provides was recently recognised
when the company won the ‘Green Energy Award’ for
contribution to skills.
Falls
from
height
E
very year hundreds of accidents and incidents are
recorded as a result of working at height activities.
Falls from height are one of the biggest causes of
workplace fatalities and major injuries in the UK and
accounted for nearly three in ten fatal injuries to workers
(41 out of 142) during 2014/15. Almost half of fatal falls
took place in construction (20 out of 41 fatal fall injuries).
Work at height means work in any place where, if there
were no precautions in place, a person could fall a distance
liable to cause personal injury. Risk is fairly obvious in
certain workplace environments such as working on a roof
or ladder. In other environments, risk may be less obvious;
if you could fall into a hole in the ground, for example.
Employers and those in control of any work at height
activity must make sure the work is properly planned,
supervised and carried out safely. This includes using the
right type of equipment for working at height and ensuring
that any people en gaged in the work are ‘competent’.
How do you decide if someone is ‘competent’
to work at height?
Employers should make sure that people have the
necessary skills, knowledge and experience to perform the
task, or, if they are being trained, that they work under the
supervision of somebody competent to do it.
MRS Training & Rescue is a leading nationwide (ISO
9001:2000 approved) Health & Safety training provider to
many businesses and industries throughout the UK. They
offer first class facilities to deliver a range of key height
related training courses for people who are engaged in this
safety critical work.
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HSE INTERNATIONAL
Training Centre Manager, Errol Parrish said:
“We offer realistic training in a safe environment,
and our facilities include a specially designed training
tower that provides our clients with the most realistic
scenarios possible. We engage with organisations and
key stakeholders to highlight the courses available;
encouraging skill development to support people to
working safely at height across all sectors.”
Working safely at height may not require the
use of complex equipment and procedures as a
suitable solution; take a sensible approach when
considering precautions for work at height. There
may be some low-risk situations where common
sense tells you no particular precautions are
necessary and the law recognises this.
There is a common misconception that
ladders and stepladders are banned, but this
is not the case. There are many situations
where a ladder is the most suitable
equipment for working at height.
Before working at height you must
work through three simple steps:
1. Avoid work at height where it is reasonably practicable
to do so.
2. Where work at height cannot be avoided, prevent falls
using either an existing place of work that is already
safe or the right type of equipment.
3. Minimise the distance and consequences of a fall, by
using the right type of equipment where the risk cannot
be eliminated.
In the case of low-risk work, such as using ladders for
short duration tasks (less than 30 minutes), competence
requirements may be no more than ensuring employees
receive instruction on how to use the equipment safely
(eg how to tie a ladder properly) and appropriate training.
Training often takes place on the job; it does not always
take place in a classroom.
When a more technical level of competence is required,
a more advanced and appropriate level of training would
also be necessary. This includes the use of particular
working at height safety equipment such as fall arrest and
fall restraint devices, safety harnesses, work positioning
lanyards, descenders and rescue equipment, for working
on towers, high platforms and roofs etc.
Errol added:
‘’MRS Training & Rescue realise that no single solution is
fit for all working at height situations. Therefore, we also
offer bespoke courses by working closely with our clients
to design and develop training specifically to meet their
needs. Safety, quality and professionalism are always at the
forefront of our minds’’.
You can find out more about MRS Training
& Rescue by visiting their website at:
www.mrstrainingandrescue.com
or by calling Errol on 01383 510766.
HSE INTERNATIONAL
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