Maintenance contractor fell from unsecured makeshift platform

A contractor’s ability to continue working is in doubt after he suffered serious injuries when he fell from an unsecured platform.

The 34-year-old had been contracted to carry out maintenance work at Adhere Industrial Tapes Ltd’s factory in Colchester. On 16 November last year, he was replacing a light fitting at the site using a makeshift platform, which had been derived from a metal cage mounted on a wooden pallet. A reach truck was used to raise the platform, yet it was not secured to the vehicle.

As the contractor was standing on the platform, the cage toppled sideways off the truck’s forks and he fell seven metres to the ground. He suffered multiple factures to his skull, leg, back and wrist. He spent ten days in hospital and still remains on crutches. It’s still unclear if he will ever be able to return to work owing to his injuries.

The HSE visited the site on the day of the incident and launched an investigation. Inspectors identified that the work hadn’t been properly planned or supervised, and no risk assessment had been carried out.

As well as not being fitted to the vehicle, the platform had no restraint harness and no back guard to prevent entanglement in the truck’s lifting gear. None of the company’s drivers had been trained how to lift people.€

Approaches to managing the risks associated Musculoskeletal disorders

In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, we hear from Matt Birtles, Principal Ergonomics Consultant at HSE’s Science and Research Centre, about the different approaches to managing the risks associated with Musculoskeletal disorders.

Matt, an ergonomics and human factors expert, shares his thoughts on why MSDs are important, the various prevalent rates across the UK, what you can do within your own organisation and the Risk Management process surrounding MSD’s.

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