Case Study 1: We had to walk away from our client!
When we attend a client’s property to undertake the annual testing & recertification of their fall protection systems, we don’t just turn up and tunnel vision the immediate system, we look across the whole site to ensure that all is as safe as it should be.
We check that the route of the fall protection system doesn’t place you in other dangerous positions, that the gutters & downpipes are not blocked so that water ingress doesn’t occur, we check if there is lightning protection installed on the site, if there is any roof damage, we check everything, and we have the best partners for these associated trades to turn to for their help & assistance.
What we find perplexing is that whilst our clients place their trust in ensuring that they do not fall foul of the law with regard to their responsibilities and that they are keeping visitors to their sites, and their own staff, safe whilst working at height, is that our reports are often ignored. This makes us wonder whether the safety of their employees and visitors to their site is truly important to them, or if it is a paper exercise.
Our knowledge and experience gained over the past 25 surpass theirs, and that’s what they pay us for so that when if an accident does occur, they don’t end up in court, behind bars, or have to suffer the guilt that somebody has life-changing injuries, or that a mother, father, brother, or sister went to work and never returned home!
A perfect analogy is when I take my car in for a service or an MOT.
I listen to the trained mechanics because they are trained, and I am not, so I trust what they tell me. If they tell me my engine is going to fall out the rusted frame, I don’t then continue to drive it knowing it could bottom out, cause a lot more damage, or injure or kill somebody, and if I did, and that happened, I would deserve the fall out from it.
We have walked away from two clients this year alone, simply because we cannot sign off a system that is designed to protect somebody that will put them into a position of danger. This is what we will do. We are not like other fall protection companies, we do the right thing, all the time.
The examples that we demonstrate in our case studies are of poor practice. The client has gone to the effort of engaging the services of the specialist but then chooses to ignore the reports. This can only mean that their only concern is having a piece of paper that they feel covers them in the event of any legal issues, overlooking the safety of their staff and visitors to their sites.
In this example, look how dangerous the roof access is! Not only is this illegal, the person is at huge risk. The hugely concerning issue is that the Health & Safety director is fully aware!
Please feel free to contact us should you require any advice.
