Falls from open edges

Accident example 1

A worker died following a fall from machinery. He was working alone at night cleaning parts of the plant and there was no protection against falling. He was found with head injuries the following morning and died the next day.

Accident example 2

A food production operative fell into a rotating drum on a production line and broke both wrists and one leg. She was attempting to clean the machine. Working on top of the machine was common practice due to the absence of a safe system of work for adequately cleaning the machine. The top of the machine did not represent a safe working platform and there were no provisions to prevent falls from height. The employer was fined £18 000.

Accident example 3

A demolition firm was ordered to pay £15 000 in fines and compensation after a lorry driver suffered serious head injuries falling almost 7 m from the first floor of a building. The driver was collecting bricks from the first floor of the building when he fell. There were no protective barriers in place and the bricks had been stored on the first floor despite a risk assessment recommending they were stored on the ground floor.

Accident example 4

An operative fell off the loading ramp, whilst being given instruction by a colleague on the use of a palm computer and how to download data from a L8130 excavator. He was standing on the ramp alongside the machine and it appears he stepped backwards and fell to the ground. He was escorted to the canteen and then to hospital where a subsequent medical examination confirmed he had suffered a fractured hip.

Precautions

• Consider whether there are ways of doing the job which avoid working at height. It may be possible to carry out cleaning work, for example, from the ground or catwalk using long-handled cleaning tools.
• If work at height is unavoidable, aim to protect against falls by providing a suitable working platform fitted with edge protection (ie guard rails and toe boards).
• In some, exceptional, circumstances it may be appropriate to use fall-arrest equipment such as a safety harness. If such equipment is used, adequate training and supervision must be provided.
• Always consider how else the job could be undertaken before deciding to work from a ladder. It will often be safer, easier and quicker to use a mobile elevating work platform or a fork-lift truck, or a tower scaffold.