Video of the Week: Fall protection inspection and certification

Fall protection systems must be inspected and rectified on an annual basis to ensure that they are safe to use at all times. 

In Buildingtalk’s video of the week, Steven Kilpin, Recertification Manager of Safesite, explains the importance of competent recertification and the responsibility that this places on building contractors.

As Steven explains, building owners are under pressure to ensure safety solutions are in place to prevent falls from height in their properties. However, owners often forget that once a fall protection system is installed it must be properly maintained and examined once a year.

Standards such as BS EN 365, BS EN 795 and BS EN 7883 and legislations including Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations and the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations clearly state that this level of maintenance is required.

If a company’s safety equipment does not comply with this legislation, it could result in a hefty fine or even jail time should an accident occur.

Safesite recertification service

Safesite offers a full assessment scheme for roof safety equipment such as life line systems and guardrails, carried out by one of its fully qualified engineers. The recertification service inspects and certifies all PPE used in conjunction with this equipment including lanyards and harnesses.

Unfortunately, many business owners aren’t getting their systems re-certified, due to them not knowing about the need for it, and the supplier not being aware of the completed project. The contractor acts as the middle man in these circumstances, playing a vital part in closing the gap between the supplier and end user to ensure the recertification process can be completed.

It is for this reason that Safesite is encouraging contractors explain the need for annual recertification of the systems installed at the end of a project, and provide them with the details of the system supplier. It is also important of the contractor to get back in touch with the supplier and provide them with the end users contact details, project completion date and systems installed.

This would allow the supplier to keep a record of project details and contact the end user to book in the recertification.