19.01.2026

Horizon safety day

UK company Horizon Platforms has hosted a mobile elevating work platform awareness and rescue safety day at a Marks & Spencer site in Putney, London, to highlight gaps in rescue preparedness and machine familiarisation.

The session - organised at the request of Sigma M&E for senior members of the Marks & Spencer Continuous Improvement Group (MSCIG) - brought together site, project, health & safety and construction managers working across projects across the country.

The training identified that even though most projects had rescue plans, these were often impractical and not well understood. Many supervisors lack hands-on experience with work platforms and rarely practise rescue procedures. To improve the impact of the training, the session included a practical rescue exercise, which exposed gaps in confidence and familiarity when using real equipment.

Matt Fray, head of retail sales at Horizon said: “What we consistently see is that rescue planning exists on paper, but the people expected to carry it out often haven't had the opportunity to practise it on the machines they're actually using.”

A simplified rescue process flow chart was introduced which the company said participants found cleared than standard written procedures. The live site setting also highlighted real-world challenges, such as congestion and mixed competence levels. Attendees also received access to Horizon Platforms’ online 'MEWPs for Managers' course.