EduCare Advent Care-ndar – Day one
As our taste in Christmas decorations gets bigger (and better?) every year, it is not surprising that in recent years there has been an increase in the number of injuries from people falling when hanging lights or Christmas decorations.
On Day one of our Advent Care-
Working at height
Falls from height remain the most common kind of workplace fatality and one of the main causes of major injury.
Many activities involve working at height using ladders, stepladders and trestles and scaffolding. The Work at Height (WAH) Regulations 2005
Work at height means work in any place where, if there were no precautions in place, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. For example, you are working at height if you:
- are working on a ladder or a flat roof
- could fall through a fragile surface
- could fall into an opening in a floor or a hole in the ground.
The WAH Regulations also cover the possibility of materials and other objects falling onto people below. Precautions must be based on a risk assessment which should be carried out before work starts and considered in the order below.
- Avoid work at height where it is reasonably practicable to do so.
- Where work at height cannot be avoided, prevent falls using either an existing place of work that is already safe or the right type of equipment.
- Minimise the distance and consequences of a fall, by using the right type of equipment where the risk cannot be eliminated.
Always use the appropriate access equipment such as kick stools or stepladders for high shelves. Never use any chair for access. Ladders should only be used by trained people and must be properly maintained.
Enjoy the decorating, and don't miss tomorrow's door on our Advent Care-
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