Working at Height Topic Articles
Below is a list of articles that have been published on this topic.
Click on the title to view the whole article
What Goes Up... [Sep 2009]
Fall Protection When Working At Height
Safety at Height [Apr 2009]
The challenges facing the height safety industry
When entering the world of height safety some 18 years ago, I was astounded by the range and complexity of available products for ensuring the safety of people who choose to work at height.
Heightened Safety [Jan 2009]
Safe working can never be assumed
- It has to permeate through every element of the workplace, including the all-important training.
Height and safety (yes, the title of this article is a play on words) are often enforced bedfellows when they should be inseparable. Of course, no-one should be working at height without extensive training and strict operational procedures but the ebb and flow of the annual HSE accident statistics for this sector suggests the battle for the routine delivery of responsible behaviour when operating at great height or in areas of difficult access has not yet been won.
Scaling New Heights [Oct 2008]
Preventing falls in the air transport industry
Each year, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) receives about 40 reported incidents of air transport industry staff injuring themselves after falling from height1. About 15 of these are major injuries such as fractures.
Many of these accidents occur airside during aircraft maintenance, accessing or egressing the aircraft and working on or from service equipment - with falls from height and workplace transport incidents causing the majority of air-transport related accidents reported by the HSE.2 A significant proportion of the most serious accidents occur during aircraft turnaround. The scenario is broadly similar throughout Europe, though statistical data is hard to come by.
Going Down in the World - Safely [Jul 2008]
A look at descending devices' most comprehensive standard
In April 2007, a new International Standard for descending devices, ISO 22159, was published, without fanfare, after development over a period of nearly six years. This article gives an insight into the work involved in producing what is probably the most comprehensive standard for descending devices ever published.
HSI's Height FORUM [Apr 2008]
An insight into the height safety arena
We offered height safety manufacturers the opportunity to explain what they think are the most essential considerations when selecting this important area of PPE, what developments they are particularly proud of and how they see the market progressing in the future.
Fall Arrest [Jan 2008]
Then, now and tomorrow
Height safety equipment, a brief history
Over the past five decades the Height Safety Industry has undergone a progressive change to deal with situations where personnel are required to work in areas once deemed safe, but now considered to need regulation. There have been a constant series of developments, from the use of waist belts with short rope lanyards and chain lanyards in the 1980's to the vast array of different shock absorbing devices and full body harnesses now available. Only a handful of key manufacturers have consistently provided the innovations that have led the Height Safety Industry to where is it today.
Fall Arrest Equipment [Oct 2007]
The science behind the myth
Of all the sectors of the safety market Fall Arrest is one of the most complex, with every different scenario requiring a different solution and a different level of understanding. It is also one of the least understood and most often poorly addressed areas of personnel safety, whilst remaining one of the few sectors where the result of a wrong product decision or poor working method will almost certainly result in the death of a worker should a fall occur.
Workers Height Safety [Jul 2007]
The risk factors and inspection regimes
In recent years there has been an increasing requirement for industrial process operators to use equipment and services which comply with the standards of the Environment Agency MCERTS scheme. The benefits to process operators are evident in more reliable and appropriate monitoring data.
Working at Height [Apr 2007]
Standardisation of complex design PPE
Working at height is work undertaken at a place where injury could occur should somebody fall from it (even if it is at or below ground level) - often involving the use of scaffolds, ladders, hoists, gantries or general roof work. Falls from height are the most common cause of fatal injury, and the second most common cause of serious occupational injuries in the UK. 46 people died during 2005/2006, compared with 67 deaths during 2003/2004. Many of these accidents could have been avoided if the right equipment had been available and correct working practices put in place.
Inspection of Height PPE [Jan 2007]
Just how competent does a person need to be?
Every year businesses invest large amounts of time and considerable sums of money in providing suitable systems for carrying out work at height.
Falls from Height [Oct 2006]
There is still a vital need to protect workers
Although the total number of personnel being killed at work is on the decline, there are certain activities which are still of concern. Working at height, according to the HSE, remains the most common kind of accident in the workplace with falls from height accounting for nearly twenty five percent of deaths among workers across all industries.
Safe Approach to Height [Apr 2006]
Many deaths and major injuries are easily avoidable if simple, sensible measures are taken to reduce the risk of a fall from height.
Simplicity Works [Jan 2006]
The safe solution for work-at-height
UK’s New Work at Height Regulations [Jan 2005]
New fall protection hierarchy in practice
When they come into force The Work at Height Regulations (WAHR) will implement the Temporary Work at Height Directive1 in the UK. The key elements of the development approach taken by HSE in the drafting of the Regulations were:
Working at Height [Oct 2004]
Are your properly protected
Fall Arrest [Jul 2004]
Life hangs by a thread - or a fall arrester
Fall Arrest Equipment [Oct 2002]
Wayne Ellis discusses ongoing training, the latest techniques and the importance of quality equipment for an area that claims the lives of far too many workers and injures hundreds more; working safely at heights.
