This month we are taking a look at the need to educating people on the dangers of working at height.

The UK construction industry is truly diverse, it covers the entire lifecycle from raw materials including mining, quarrying and forestry for the construction of infrastructure and buildings, through to the manufacture and supply of building products, maintenance materials, through to demolition.  

All construction projects share common risks and while construction companies use a wide range of safety practices as part of their safety and management programmes there is an increased emphasis on the need to educating people on the dangers of working at height.

Working at height remains one of the biggest cause of fatalities and major injuries within the UK Construction Industry. A report published by HSE states, ‘In 2022, falls from height accounted for 30 fatal injuries and approx. 18 other serious related injury were caused by a strike from a moving, flying or falling object’. However, the most common construction accidents occurring on site involve falls often occur from scaffolding, ladders, elevated place, roofs, chimneys etc...

Most construction contractors commit people to working at height either during the building phase, demolition, or when maintenance and or repairs are required.

While everyone understands the dangers of working at height not everyone is familiar with workplace systems and preventions that are available to protect construction teams while they are working on site and at height.

All building projects are fraught with risks that can take many forms; from the development of the building structures, examples could include, open-life-shafts which create potential fall through, to technical risks, inadequate and incomplete building designs and or design exceptions, or the use of wrongly selected building materials, all of which could impact possible errors and safety risks to the construction team.

Along with all the health and safety risks that can occur on a construction site, changeable weather conditions also play a significant role in the chance of accidents. Extreme weather present hazards to cranes and tower operators with an increasing chance of being blown across to the side, accelerating the chance of workers falling especially if there is insufficient side protection.

Health and safety regulations, guidance, and new legislation can be daunting when trying to create and manage a safe and productive construction site. 

Developers and Main Contractors must ensure the workforce they are responsible for, have the correct knowledge and preventative measures to protect them throughout the project build.

Essential Site Skills can take the worry out of managing your Health and Safety Training Programmes. 

We can deliver in-house accredited training courses right to your premises, anywhere in the UK.

We recommend you look at the following key Working at Height courses.

Working at Height Awareness Course designed to provide all construction workers with the necessary knowledge for managing the risks that are presented when working at height is require. The course addresses Working at Height Regulations to prevent accidents, injuries or near misses. The course also highlights various working at height hazards, identifies a range of control measures and confirms the need for employees to receive Safety Harness training for those who undertake this work and are required to wear a harness on site.

The only way to ensure legal and practical compliance is by attending Essential Site Skills informative, and accredited courses.  

To view our full range of Working at Height courses, follow the link… 

https://essentialsiteskills.co.uk/category/working-height

Further Recommended health and Safety courses included:

Working at Height Awareness Course 

https://essentialsiteskills.co.uk/course/working-height-awareness

Safe use of Ladders/step Ladders

https://essentialsiteskills.co.uk/course/ladder-and-stepladder-users-course

Working at height Rescue course. It is a legal requirement to plan and prepare for any rescue situation without reliance on the fire brigade with a trained rescue team and suitable equipment.

https://essentialsiteskills.co.uk/course/working-height-rescue-training

Working at Height Equipment Inspector. Any work at height equipment you use must receive various legal compliance inspections at intervals of 6 months, or before, by a competent person.

https://essentialsiteskills.co.uk/course/personal-fall-protection-equipment-inspector-course

Or you could consider a bespoke option for this course involving practical application of equipment on site. We invite you to contact our Commercial Team direct: 0115 897 0529 or email [email protected] to discuss options.

Health and Safety Training Courses    

Essential Site Skills are a leading UK provider of training courses, including CITB accredited courses and NVQs that are geared specifically towards the construction industry, and anyone with a need for Health and Safety Skills. 

Approved by the Matrix Accreditation body, we have proved our excellence in providing high-quality information and guidance. 

To continue your teams ongoing learning and development programmes, Essential Site Skills training offers a comprehensive range of construction related courses and NVQ qualifications, including CITB Site Safety Plus, UKATA, Fit2Fit, IOSH, NEBOSH, CPCS and NPORS accredited courses, to name a few.

All upcoming public courses for 2023 can be viewed online https://essentialsiteskills.co.uk/training-calendar