Ladder safety is an essential and yet overlooked health and safety issue present at most if not all workplaces. Falls from height are one of the most prevalent risks for businesses and health and safety officers. Ladder accidents not only cause harm to employees, but also lead to costly legal battles and possible reputational damage.
The only assured ways to defend against falling from height claims, is efficient ladder safety training and risk management measures. Businesses and employers should ensure they have implemented this ladder safety training and risk management.
How to know if your employees require working from height training?
Assess your employees upon their use of ladders and while working from height. Indications that retraining is required include a misunderstanding or lack of knowledge of basic ladder safety procedures. If there have been near-miss incidents or recent falls, it may be wise to introduce new ladder safety training. If any new equipment has been purchased or new safety regulations ahead of time.
New hires will require ladder training as part of their mandatory health and safety training. Also, if training was done three years ago or more, it will need to be reintroduced. Ultimately, workers can never be too well trained, and if standards are slipping, reintroducing training could save your business from a costly claim.
What are ladder safety tips?
Ensure your employees are understanding and following these key ladder safety tips.
- Choosing the right ladder – Ladders have a height restriction and also a load capacity that needs to be noted.
- Ladder quality inspection – Missing rungs or damage means the ladder needs to be replaced. The ladder’s grippy texture needs to remain.
- Ladder position – level surfaces and correct angles are essential and must be learned.
- Operating and climbing safely – all workers should know of the rule of three points of contact.
- Securing the ladder – Make sure employees know how to tie down and safely secure the ladder.
Why is ladder safety essential?
Ladder safety is essential because the consequences of improper training and a potential incident is drastic. Workplace injuries are a likely result of poor training , with falls from height being some of the most dangerous and prominent.
A workplace injury can result in a costly claim. Compensation fees and legal fees can stretch into the thousands. The reputational damage from an injury or death at your workplace can be severe. The productivity and morale of your staff can be affected, as well as an extensive review of your health and safety documentation. Employee absences will then need to be covered.
Ultimately, ladder safety protects the welfare of your employees as well as financially protecting your business.
What do businesses need to do to safeguard against falls from height?
Business employers should perform a full safety review of their workplace. Ask and assess how long it has been since you administered proper ladder safety training, and then review your equipment.
To fully understand your risk, before a HSE inspection, enquire with Sentient. Sentient are a health and safety outsourcing service which will visit and inspect your premises, offering useful next steps and improvement instructions.
Where to find ladder safety training for employees?
Ladder safety training, as well as an abundance of other health and safety training in the workplace, can be requested from Sentient. Sentient are a HR and health and safety service provider who enable outsourcing and workplace assessments. Sentient provide guidance to businesses as well as documentation
Sentient’s training courses, such as manual handling guidance, can either be conducted at the premises for the benefit of employees, or offered as an individual training course for specific members of staff. These staff members can then lead and teach the team.
Key areas are effective risk assessments and hazard identification when working from height. Staff members need full awareness of how to safely use ladders and operate while upon scaffolding. Fall prevention techniques are also available as well as the necessary emergencies procedures following an incident.
Work from Height Health and Safety training for Businesses
Health and safety training courses are available from Sentient. All employees who work on elevated surfaces will require training and to understand the risks. Businesses need to layout the relevant safety protocols and conduct a thorough risk assessment. HSE inspections can happen to any business at any time, so having a friendly Sentient representative review your workplace will provide a list of recommendation in order to keep your business risk averse.
If an incident were to happen, and safety measures or documentation are not in place, then this could impact a business’s insurance. Training needs to be evidence in order to protect against the likelihood of costly legal compensation following an injury.
For more information on the necessary training courses and risk assessment for businesses, contact Romero Insurance. We’ll put you in touch with our partners at Sentient, who will be able to assess your HR and health and safety functions.
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Case Study : Fall at Height results in prison sentence
