06.06.2006

UK 'Height Aware' campaign launched

Everyday actions such as reaching for a mobile phone, or a cup of tea could be risking the safety of trades people working at height, with falls from below head height injuring thousands every year at work.

A new campaign from the UK's Health and Safety Executive, 'Height Aware', aims to raise the awareness of the dangers faced by people who operate at relatively low heights.

A recent HSE survey of 150 trades people revealed that one in three admited to putting their safety at risk by answering their mobile phones while working at height. The same proportion of people routinely overreach to avoid moving their ladders during low-level work, and one in seven of those surveyed even admit to reaching dangerously to pick up a cup of tea on the job.

The survey also indicates that trades people routinely underestimate the risks associated with working at lower heights, believing it to be less dangerous than lifting heavy objects.

According to official HSE statistics, falling is the biggest cause of workplace fatalities. Last year, over 3,700 major injuries were recorded from falls at workplaces across the UK, with six in ten of those injuries coming as a result of working at heights of two metres or less.

Over the same period, 53 people died falling from a height at work, with seven of those working below head height.


"The dangers involved in working at such low levels may seem less obvious to employees or small business owners – which is why raising awareness of them is all the more important," said Geoffrey Podger, HSE chief executive.

"Falls are preventable when work is planned properly, the risks are accurately assessed, and the correct equipment is used. Accidents cost businesses money, but for a smaller operator, it can cost you much more than that – it could cost you your business. Worst of all for the individual – it could cost them their life."

Nearly half of those questioned in the recent survey of trades people claimed to have nearly slipped or fallen in the past three months, highlighting the scale of the dangers facing people working at height.