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Warning! Warning! The Health and Safety Executive's Ladder Exchange scheme is about to end. Yes, after 31st December, you will no longer be able to take your dodgy ladder and exchange it, at a greatly discounted price, for a brand new shiny version which might just prevent a nasty ladder accident.
So far over 900 ladders have been exchanged, but the HSE is keen to see more employers and businesses checking their equipment to see if it is safe to use and fully functional before the scheme comes to a close.
In a press release they asked ladder users to ensure ladder safety by asking three simple questions of themselves.
And it is this final question that I feel should be highlighted, printed in bold and should have an accompanying audio file of a large trumpetv fanfare, because if you've ever looked at work safety websites, the posting of harum scarum photos showing how some people use ladders is encouraged and the impact they can have on your digestive system is extremely unpleasant.
I have seen pictures of workers leaning off the top rung of a ladder which is perched on a six inch balustrade fifty feet above a busy street. I have also seen workers atop ladders, atop wheel barrows, atop the backs of various unsteady platforms, including skips filled with rubbish and flatbed trailer decks.
These ladder users, in the event of a work accident, would be pretty unlikely to be able to mount a successful personal injury compensation claim, and perhaps, if they knew some of the statistics regarding ladder accidents, they may think twice about their actions.
According to the HSE over two million people use ladders every day in the UK and every month 100 of them fall off their ladder at work - many suffer serious injuries. Falls from height in the workplace caused the deaths of 35 workers in 2008/09 and more than 4,500 employees suffered major injuries after a fall from height in the workplace.
Many of these accidents would have been avoidable had the ladder owner checked the ladder for damage, bent rungs or any malfunctioning parts, or if the ladder user had thought hard about whether or not what he was doing was safe.
Ladder safety and maintenance is paramount for a safe working environment and, as already mentioned, the time is nigh to take your faulty, bent, rickety item to any of the ladder exchange partners detailed on the HSE website so that you or your employer may become the owner of an item that is less likely to cause personal injury.
If only there were an HSE approved scheme for the exchange of numpty workers intent on doing all they can to have a ladder accident - now there's a thought.
