Often health and safety can be undermined by irregular checks of building sites, which can lead to lapses in on-site safety. However, when it comes to height safety there’s no room for compromise, as not only is height safety fundamentally important, but it is also subject to inspections by the HSE, or the Health and Safety Executive.
As well as height safety, the HSE will also ensure that all other aspects of health and safety are up to standard, from employee welfare to roof repair, which of course is related to roof safety. Therefore it is essential that prior to the HSE visit your safety strategy is comprehensive and watertight.
In regards to to working at height this is extremely important, as even with the right safety measures in place, working at height can still be hazardous, therefore there is no room to compromise, and if you do compromise the HSE will catch you out.
It was recently announced that the HSE is set to visit lots of small construction sites in London, perhaps because smaller construction sites are more prone to safety lapses. The visits intend to cover everywhere from Westminster to Wandsworth and therefore if your site is in London there is a good chance that you will be subject to a visit.
As many as 25% of sites visit so far have been served with prohibition notices, due to lapses in their safety strategy, which is evidence that the HSE will not compromise if he or she finds your health and safety to be deficient – so can you afford not to have a watertight roof safety policy?