As an established trade association and training body, FASET would like to draw its members attention to the latest Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecutions following falls from height, resulting in catastrophic injuries for employees.
Whilst these injuries may not have been caused by a failure of safety nets or temporary safety systems, they do highlight the need for organisations to ensure operatives are operating safely and following latest guidance and training.
A logistics company has been fined £1 million after an employee fell over 10 metres and sustained serious fractures to his skull, back, pelvis, arm, wrist and ankle.
The 31-year-old employee, had fallen through an open hole in the driver’s cab of a straddle carrier, landing on the concrete floor below. The HSE found that the company failed to ensure that there was a safe system of work at its site.
A second prosecution against a Cheshire based electrical transmission company resulted in a £240,000 fine, after a 35-year-old operative was left paralysed from the chest down after a fall at work.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the company failed to ensure that the work at height was properly planned, appropriately supervised, and carried out in a manner that was, so far as was reasonably practicable, safe.
The company had not considered the work at height hierarchy as part of its planning and had not followed its own safety documentation.
HSE inspector Francesca Arnold said:
“The hazards of working at height are well known and documented and this prosecution should now remind employers that a failure to manage and implement effective measures can have serious consequences and they will be held accountable for this failure.”
51 construction workers were killed in 2023/24 (RIDDOR) 50 of which were as a result of a fall from height.
FASET’s aim is to help its members reduce this statistic. We do this in a number of ways such as regular member meetings, giving members the opportunity to input into industry legislation, hot topics and of course, our very popular guidance section of our website.
Become a FASET member today and unlock the benefits that will help you keep your operatives safe on site.
