FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
Building owners can be liable not only for the safety of their own employees but also those up and down the supply chain, including contractor and supplier personnel. HSE reported that in 2018 the highest percentage of fatal injuries of workers was falls from height (26%).To this end, Langley Waterproofing Systems Ltd has developed its Safe Survey Policy, to provide its clients with peace of mind that any Langley employee that has been tasked with accessing their roof, has the necessary skills, knowledge, training and experience to carry out such works safely.Carrying out roof surveys is inherently hazardous, and Langley recognises its primary duty is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its employees on-site. Langley also recognises that building owners, or those looking after the premises, are liable should an incident or injury happen whilst any third party is on their premises.
These liabilities do not begin only when the formal project starts, but beforehand where surveys and other initial project calculations are taken. This is governed by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and the Workplace (Health and Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
It is therefore important for the owner or manager of a building to ensure safety on their site. Equally, the employer of the visitor must ensure its staff have the necessary credentials to attend the site and work safely, and have risk assessments in place to cover their activities.
Langley has devised its own Safe Survey Policy, an innovative initiative that has been designed to provide clear guidance on the way its roof surveys will be planned, organised and ultimately carried out by its employees and associated third parties – within a clearly defined and well understood Health and Safety framework and Management System.
Tom Kerr, Sales Director at Langley, says, “It is important that we help building owners – and anyone instructing a survey on said building – to understand that, when it comes to roofing projects, they could also be responsible for the safety of any third-party not just at the construction stage of a project but from the initial survey too – and this is what our initiative specifically supports.
“A comprehensive Safe Survey Policy will now be issued as standard, provided in advance, before gaining access to the roof. The document details Langley’s approach to all aspects of safety on site and the health and safety protocols to which all Langley employees have to adhere.
“Alongside this, each of Langley’s project teams have an employee credential certification which will be sent to building owners or those instructing a survey, prior to any site visit. This carries the assurances that the employee is a valid CSCS Cardholder, carries DBS Certification, and has comprehensive knowledge of safe working practices, especially when working at height.
“We recognise that when it comes to health and safety, it is important for a client to feel safe in the knowledge that fully competent individuals are carrying out works on their ‘out-of-sight’ asset, working collaboratively with the relevant stakeholders for a risk-free partnership. Our Safe Survey Policy therefore provides clients with a clear understanding of how a site visit should be approached in high risk situations, such as working from heights; and we hope that it will become the benchmark against which all such works should be assessed.”
To find out more about the range of services Langley provides, please visit www.langley.co.uk, email enquiries@langley.co.uk or call 01327 704778.
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