No Falls Week, will see a number of organisations highlight and provide information and tools to emphasise the importance of working at height safely.
The World Health organisation (WHO), state “globally, falls are a major public health problem. An estimated 684 000 fatal falls occur each year, making it the second leading cause of unintentional injury death, after road traffic injuries.” While not all these are work-related, or indeed falls from height, the figures do frame the issue.
In the UK, falls from height are the single biggest cause of worker fatal accidents with 40 such events occurring in 2022/23 (Health and Safety Executive figures (HSE)). The British Safety Council (BSC) further report that “every year thousands of non-fatal falls take place – it’s estimated to be as many as 100 every day.”
In the words of the No Falls Foundation, the mission behind the campaign “is simple yet crucial: to raise awareness about the importance of safe working at height. Whether you work in construction, manufacturing, agriculture or any other sector, our campaign aims to equip you with the knowledge, tools, and inspiration to prevent falls and ensure everyone that works at height comes down safely.”
Five tips for your organisation if you have people working at height:
- Check out the campaign and get involved (No Falls Week – No Falls Week)
- Review your work at height policy and procedures, do they cover and reflect what is going on?
- When was the last time your ladders, steps, gantries, gondolas, and eyebolts etc. were safety checked and to what standard?
- If you have work at height activities occurring, check as appropriate the risk assessments, method statements and whether they are actually being followed.
- If you have contractors regularly undertaking work at height activities, have you discussed with them alternative plans/strategies?
HSE information on working at height safely can be found at (Work at height - HSE).