Premier Technical Services : The importance of safety when working at height

Doctor Karen McDonnell, occupational safety and health policy advisor at RoSPA, has highlighted how basic measures are still not being taken to prevent accidents when working at height.

Speaking to Construction News, Dr McDonnell referred to 'wholly avoidable' accidents, such as an employee of a business based in Doncaster, who shattered his elbow after falling from a ladder. In a separate incident, a construction firm in London was fined £300,000 after admitting breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act, which led to an employee's death on a stairwell.

The article says that falls have always been the most common type of injury experienced by the UK's workforce. It is essential that all firms that undertake any kind of working at height take measures to protect their employees. Often, simple and common-sense precautions are sufficient to prevent accidents.

Premier Technical Services Group PLC (PTSG), the UK's leading provider of specialist services and equipment to the construction and services sector, conducts a great deal of its work at height. This includes the installation, testing and maintenance of lightning protection systems, high-level cleaning and steeplejack working, and the design and installation of some of the world's largest building maintenance units.

Safety has always underpinned every action taken by its teams of engineers and PTSG is still one of the only organisations of its kind to have a full-time Health, Safety and Environmental division working Group-wide to ensure the safety of both employees and building users during projects. It's an approach which has garnered many industry awards - in 2018, the Group achieved a Gold Medal (7 consecutive Golds) in the internationally-renowned RoSPA Health and Safety Awards, the longest-running industry awards scheme in the UK.

Earlier this month, PTSG was proud to announce it has received an International Safety Award with Distinction. The Group will celebrate its achievement at the 61^st International Safety Awards Gala Dinner on Friday, 5^th April at the five-star JW Marriott Grosvenor House London.