Happy New Year and welcome to another raft of rules to cast your refreshed eyes over. This time it's the proposed Working at Height Regulations (see pages 7 and 17); the four-month consultation period is well under way, so make sure you get your comments in now.
I'm sure no one will try to argue that the Health and Safety Commission is not justified in trying to take action to reduce the horrific number of injuries, and in the worst cases deaths, that result from falls from height. The statistics speak for themselves: 49 people killed in 2002/03 and around 4000 serious injuries annually.

The draft regs will replace the working at height provisions in the Construction Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations 1996, which have clearly been found wanting. The 1996 regs concentrated on heights over two metres; sadly, most injuries result from falls below two metres.

Of course, that is not the only reason why the figures are so bad. Too many firms are cavalier with the welfare of their workforce, and with too few HSE inspectors around, one has to wonder whether any regs can ever have a massive impact. The real answer lies with bosses not regs – it is up to you to make a difference on your sites.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor