Two new Safety Alerts have been issued. The first is a Global Alert relating to a tragic incident where an employee in our overseas operations fell eight metres to his death from a walkway. The second is a UK Alert relating to our most recent Lost Time Injury (LTI) in the UK, where an Agency Driver fell while getting out of his vehicle cab, fracturing both collarbones.

As you will see in the Global Alert, the exact circumstances are unclear; however, it seems the employee may have tripped / fallen on objects left on the walkway and either gone under the adjacent edge protection, which was not fitted with a toe board, or through an access gate.

Falls from height are typically the biggest single cause of workplace fatal incidents in the UK, accounting for 29 deaths across industry last year, nearly 25% of the total.

Please discuss this Alert with your teams, highlighting the need for good housekeeping to minimise the risk of slips, trips and falls, wherever possible tackling the source of spillage, etc. at source, and the requirement for robust inspection schemes to ensure fall protection, such as handrails, gates and barriers are suitable, sufficient and in good order.

For the UK Alert, we have suffered four LTIs this year in the UK, all involving contract drivers, with three of the four resulting from slips, trips and falls… two being the result of falls while climbing down from vehicles. We hope the driver makes a full recovery soon; however, it is estimated he will be off work for approximately eight weeks.

Please discuss this Alert with your team, using it as an opportunity to remind everyone, including contractors and particularly drivers, about the risk of slips, trips and falls. In conjunction with the current slips, trips and falls campaign, please highlight the importance of “Get a Grip” and also good housekeeping standards, two of our Safety Essentials. Risks can be reduced by eliminating slip / trip hazards where possible, highlighting remaining trip hazards, stair treads and handrails with yellow paint, and ensuring Get a Grip stickers are strategically placed around our sites. We can all look after ourselves by getting a grip and maintaining 3 points of contact on steps, ladders, and stairways, and look after each other by stepping in and reminding colleagues to hold handrails, grab rails, etc. as appropriate.

You can read both Safety Alerts in the download section of the UK News website:  Safety Alert - Employee fatally injured after fall from height (471 downloads) Safety Alert - Fall when getting out of cab (452 downloads)

Please display the Alerts on relevant notice boards.