AIF responds to
Löfstedt report
The Access Industry Forum (AIF) - a
forum for all the principal trade associations and federations
involved in work at height - welcomes the publication of the report
chaired by Professor Ragnar Löfstedt. In particular, the Forum
welcomes the fact that the committee acknowledges the problem lies
less with the regulations themselves, but more with their
interpretation.
Comments Peter Bennett for the Forum:
“We welcome a report that proposes
to simplify the regulations and by doing so brings greater clarity and
understanding to their application. However, we do have a number of
significant misgivings, not least of which is the proposal to exempt
self-employed workers from certain requirements of health and safety
legislation.”
“Working at height is inherently
hazardous and needs to be properly controlled and managed.”
A key outcome for the Forum is the
recommendation that the Work at Height Regulations and associated
guidance should be reviewed by April 2013. The regulations are central
to much of the work of the Forum’s member organisations and have
informed an important part of their guidance and best practice advice
since their introduction in 2005.
The Forum looks forward to making a
significant contribution to the review process going forward and is
reassured by the comment “Any changes to the [Work at Height]
Regulations should not result in an increased risk to employees or
others.”
For its part the Forum will
continue to promote the link between training and competency and
advocate the need to work safely and competently at height using
appropriate equipment with personnel professionally trained to
industry-recognised standards.
December
2011 |
