The Access Industry forum invited a discussion on the ‘Holy Grail’ of zero work-at-height accidents, which took place at the heart of Safety & Health Expo today (15 May).
The AIF’s Chris Kendall asked Barry Holt, director of policy and research at IIRSM and Peter Bennett, managing director of PASMA, whether they still believed in the quest to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, falls from height.
Barry confessed to being a little bit cynical about the quest, admitting that although the likelihood and severity of falls from height can be reduced, “we can’t necessarily say we will totally eliminate them, but, realistically, we can reduce the likelihood of falls to as low a level as possible”.
He said that this cannot be done without reliable data. Traditional sources of data, such as the HSE and the Labour Force Survey, are not as comprehensive as they used to be, so the industry wants to develop a robust reporting and analysis system. “We want better data reflecting the industry’s activities,” he added.
Peter professed a more idealistic view, saying that every accident is avoidable and the Holy Grail will be achieved at some point. But he echoed Barry’s view that reliable data is needed to indicate where action should be directed.
Chair Chris Kendall asked the speakers to be more specific — what kind of data exactly? Could data from the Association of British Insurers be used?
According to Peter, that possibility has been explored, but has been hampered by legal and liability issues. “It is notoriously difficult,” he said.
Instead, Peter proposed a voluntary fall-reporting system asking appropriate questions, such as whether the fall happened from an existing piece of work equipment; whether it was from a specific piece of work-at-height equipment and, if so what type, whether it was from equipment not designed for working at height, such as a table or a chair, why the fall occurred, from what height did it occur and whether the person who fell was trained.
“This will tell us if, for example, product design or lack of training is at fault,” he explained.
David Lloyd, a health and safety practitioner in the audience, came in to suggest a system similar to the ‘how is my driving’ on the back of vans with a telephone number people can ring to report dangerous work at height behaviour and prevent falls. He also suggested a free smartphone app that would enable people to take photographs of bad practice and provide live data.
“If people could report potential falls, wouldn’t that be a holy grail?” he asked. Barry agreed that this could be a possible mechanism for getting data. “We are open to suggestions,” he said.
Both Peter and Barry concurred that stakeholder buy-in from all concerned, including relevant safety bodies, trade unions and those who work at height, is vital in the quest to eliminate falls from height, Barry appealing to the audience to also get involved. “Please let us know if you would be willing to work with us so that we can make quicker progress,” he said.
