The HSE has recently published a research report designed to identify reasonably practical measure to reduce the number of deaths of sole traders and workers in micro enterprises (MEs) when carrying out repairs at height on residential premises.
One of the findings was that accident fatalities were caused by unsafe work practices with “haste” being a contributory factor. Results also showed that whilst workers, on the whole, adopted good solutions for WAH, the lack of information was the main reason why workers may not adopt different or better solutions.
This data showed the need to increase the training acquired by this group of workers. It was established that, due to the size of the ‘company’ and the specific jobs in which the participants engaged, they focused on doing the work, rather than improving their skill set, or researching how else a job could be done. This is understandable as sole traders or workers in MEs have limited resources to invest in ‘upgrading’ their skills, and would have to consider obtaining training versus paid employment.
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