Addressing the Key Issues - Falls from Height

Research has shown that falls from height comprise 7% of all reportable accidents in the food and drink industries. They:

• Are the second highest cause of fatal injury, comprising about 20% of fatal accidents
  
• Are the second highest cause of major injury (broken limbs, fractured skulls etc) comprising about 17% of this category of accidents
  
• Result in about one major injury for every over-3-day absence injury
  
• Total over 700 each year
  
• Can result in serious or even fatal injury even when the fall is less than 2m.
  

In the food and drink industries, analysis of 150 falls from height accidents investigated by HSE over three years indicated the following places from which workers fell:

• Ladders 40%
  
• Vehicles/FLTs (see below) 17%
  
• Machinery/plant 10%
  
• Platforms 10%
  
• Stairs 8%
  
• Roof/false ceiling 7%
  
• Scaffold/gantry 4%
  
• Warehouse racking 4%
  

It is of note that where operatives fell from a vehicle 35% fell from the back of a lorry, 31% fell from FLT forks, 13% from cab steps, 9% from the top of a vehicle and 4% from tanker steps.

Falls on stairs are more frequent than that indicated in the investigated sample above. One third of over-3-day absence injuries caused by falling in the food and drink industries, occur on stairs.

The activity being carried out when a person fell depended on the place from which they fell. Those who fall from scaffolds, roofs and ladders are usually engaged in maintenance and repair work. Where the fall was from machinery or plant cleaning, checking and sampling were the main activities.

To check how you are managing falls from height hazards go to: Level 3 Self Assessment.

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