Falls from height continue to be a major health and safety issue with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) reporting 6,813 reported injuries caused by a fall from height at work in 2010/11 alone and 38 fatalities. The HSE also reports that transportation and storage is one of three industry sectors with the highest injury rates at 534.9 injuries per 100,000 employees.
Working at height legislation is covered by the Working at Height Regulations 2005 that came into force on 6 April 2005. The Regulations place duties on employers, the self-employed and any person that controls the work of others (for example, facilities managers or building owners who may contract others to work at height. All that is reasonably practical should be done to prevent any employee from falling and employers should make sure that their employees are properly trained for working at height.
With 19% of all RIDDOR 3 day reports dealing with falls citing a fixed or moveable ladder as the “agent of injury” the team at H&S Engineering in East Anglia thought that it was high time that the issue of fixed ladder safety was revisited. Since prevention is better than cure and with the majority of ladders having no access control and those that do normally employing a cumbersome, easily defeated board that blocks off the lower ladder rungs, the development team at H&S Engineering focused on designing a product that would allow employers, facility managers and building owners to control access with a device that was difficult to by-pass whilst being user friendly in order to avoid the charge that the solution is not practical for day to day use.
The result of extensive development is Laddergate – www.laddergate.co.uk – an innovative solution for controlling access to fixed ladders. Laddergate is bolted to the ladder and blocks access at the point that the safety hoops start. When access is required, Laddergate can be unlocked and swung into the open position, where it can again be locked off. Opening and closing of Laddergate is done at ground level, avoiding the need to take one hand off the ladder which is itself a key cause of falls from ladders.
Laddergate has the secondary benefit of providing physical security to any fixed ladder access point, protecting tanks, flat roofs etc from potential thieves and vandals.
Laddergate is available now from H&S Engineering and can be supplied in a range of sizes and finishes to suit customer requirements. It comes complete with security fixings and a lock for self installation or H&S Engineering will be happy to quote for supply and fit at the customer’s premises.
H&S Engineering can be contacted on 01553 767467 or by e mail at enquiries@hs-engineering.co.uk
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