Small and medium-sized businesses last week attended an event on the risks of working at height, held by plant-hire company A-Plant, in collaboration with the HSE.
The event, which the company hopes will be the first in a series of dedicated events, targeted SMEs in and around the Glasgow area, as well as companies signed up to the HSE’s Working Well Together (WWT) campaign, in a bid to help them learn about the risks of working at height and reduce incidents in their businesses.
Held on 1 August at A-Plant’s service centre in Govan, the event began with an informative talk from HSE inspector Moira Jennings, followed by six individual focus groups, each covering an area of working at height and the different methods that can be employed to make the workplace a safer place.
The groups enjoyed discussions, presentations, live demonstrations and interactive question and answer sessions with suppliers of working-at-height solutions including, among others, ConstructionSkills, Hilti and Zarges. More than 150 attendees were split into five groups and were ushered around each focus group, where they had 30 minutes to listen to and ask any questions of the relevant speaker.
Commenting on the event, Allan Mulholland, visiting officer for the HSE, said: “It is events like this which inform the industry of what they should and shouldn’t be doing when it comes to working at height. We hope that more events like this are organised by A-Plant to take full advantage of the services and information on offer.”
The HSE’s WWT campaign aims to improve health and safety in the construction industry and is aimed particularly at small and micro businesses. The campaign provides a nationwide network of groups where members can support and advise each other; encourage new members to join; and help stage events similar to A-Plant’s seminar in Glasgow.
