HSE have recently released data on accidents and injuries at work. Work at height is the leading cause of fatal injuries at work again - with both injuries and fatalities up from last year.
The annual data release published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Great Britain’s workplace regulator, covers the period from April 2022 to March 2023.
Work at height was the leading cause of fatal injuries at work (40) eleven more than last year (29), and an increase of five on the past five-year average (35). Figures last year could be skewed by the pandemic, which meant fewer people were at work / on site, but the increase over the 5 year average is concerning. HSE says that fatal injuries can ‘fluctuate year on year’ so the rise is not yet statistically significant.
Injuries were also up compared to the previous years - Injuries from falls from height in the latest figures are estimated to be around 35,000 up from around 25,000 in the previous period.
A significant proportion of these injuries were from low level falls from heights of 2m or under. Safety measures are often not put in place as the perceived risk of injury from such heights is low - from our testing in house using a life size test dummy (Roofus) we have found even falls from low level heights can cause serious injury.
It is important to put measures in place for any work at height in line with the hierarchy of control. Sayfa Group has a complete range of solution for any height and environment.
No one wants to see an increase in accidents at work, our products are designed to provide a safe solution at all heights. "Everyone Sayfa" focuses not just on safety but also practicality, cost and ease of use all of which can increase adoption of safety systems. Lee Muggleton, Head of Operations
Sayfa Group products provide safety from low level (1m - 3m) with the AirDeck Fall Arrest System , from (3m - 5.5m) with the RhinoDeck working platform and from over 6m and above using our mobile anchor system, Guardrail for edge protection and the recently launched safety line system.
The full report from the HSE can be found here: https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/fatals.htm