E133:05 13 October 2005
Last year 13 workers died from falls while working on a ladder, and more than 1200 suffered major injuries. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today announced a national initiative to promote safe use of ladders. Beginning on 14 November, the initiative includes a week of events when HSE inspectors will work with ladder users and their employers, look at the current use of ladders and suggest sensible measures to improve safety.
Ian Greenwood, HSE Falls from Height Team Leader, said: "With a little more planning and assessment of the risks, understanding of the limitations of ladders, proper maintenance and checking that users are competent, many of these accidents could be avoided.
"A major injury, such as a broken bone or fractured skull, can often be a life changing event for the person concerned and their family. Quite apart from the personal suffering, an injury of this sort can adversely affect earning power and job prospects for a long time after the accident."
During Ladders Week (14 - 18 November) each HSE local office is organising its own events, many in partnership with trade associations, local employers and equipment hire companies. These events include Safety and Health Awareness Days, practical demonstrations of alternative equipment to ladders and breakfast meetings with employers and health and safety professionals.
To coincide with Ladders Week, HSE will be producing free guides to help raise awareness of the risks associated with ladder use and giving advice on how to use them safely.
Further information to help people who work at height, employers, and others with responsibilities under the law, is available free on the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/. The website includes a number of "from experience" case studies of falls from ladders, together with advice on the precautions that should be taken to prevent such accidents.
1. In the year 2003/4 13 workers died from falls involving ladders and more than 1200 workers suffered major injuries. Falls from height are the number one cause of workplace deaths and one of the main causes of major injury in the workplace. Almost a third of falls are from ladders.
2. The aim of Ladders Week is to increase general awareness of the risks involved in ladder use and promote sensible health and safety. Subject to evaluation, HSE plans to hold similar initiatives in May 2006 and in 2007.
3. Information about events during Ladders Week and contact details for more information will be available on the HSE website from the beginning of November. Alternatively, information is available from local HSE offices whose contact details are on the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/maps/index.htm
4. The key points to achieving increased ladder safety are:
5. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 came into force on 6 April this year. The Regulations introduce a hierarchy for use when planning and risk assessing work at height. Duty holders should consider how to avoid work at height. If this is not possible, they should take steps to prevent a fall occurring. Where they cannot eliminate the risk, they should take steps to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall.
6. A ladder should only be used where a risk assessment demonstrates that the task is low risk and of short duration, or where there are existing features on site that cannot be altered and the use of other equipment is not practical. Such features include restricted space preventing other equipment from being put in place correctly or ground conditions that mean that there is no suitable area to set up alternative equipment.
7. HSE has published a brief guide to the Work at Height Regulations 2005 http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg401.htm .
All enquiries from journalists should be directed to the HSE Press Office
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