A large textile firm has been fined for jeopardising the safety of their workforce by failing to provide appropriate training and equipment.
A fifty-seven year old man was injured on the textile company’s site, and was treated in hospital with a broken leg and crushed ankle, with six other workers supposedly put at risk. It was reported the employee fell eight feet onto a concrete floor whilst dismantling the thirty-foot high shelving.
According to reports, the men had not received any working at height training and did not receive any specialist equipment. Also, the ladders the textiles firm provided their employees with were not suitable for the tasks carried out.
The textile firm pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act and were fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £3,056 costs.
Inspector Jackie Ferguson commented, “Falls from height remain the biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the main causes of injury. Working at height without the right equipment, training or height safety systems is wholly unacceptable and extremely dangerous.”
This illustrates the importance of work at height training and fall protection equipment. If the textile firm would have supplied protection products and working at height training then this accident may not have occurred.
There are numerous fall arrest measures that a company can outsource, so if your company requires your employees to work at height, you should ensure you have appropriate fall protection systems such as guard rails and horizontal line systems.