Health and Safety Feature Library

Operations Engineer's library catalogues editorial features going back five years.

Access to all archive material is free to all, including non-members of IPlantE (the Institution of Operations Engineers) or BES (Bureau of Engineer Surveyors), under the umbrella of SOE (Society of Operations Engineers). However, to discover the many benefits of becoming an SOE member, please click here.

05/12/2023 Maintaining safety at height Working at height isn’t necessarily unsafe. But, like anything, there are right ways and wrong ways of going about it. Tom Austin-Morgan reports on how to work safely at height » Read More

08/01/2020 Fatal falls Maintenance problems are causing accidents and falls with extending lift platforms, according to the Health and Safety Executive, which has issued guidance. Similar guidance has also been issued by the National Farmers Union » Read More

02/11/2018 Ladder to success Working at height is one of the main causes of industrial fatalities, so using the right access equipment is imperative. What are the most important considerations to be made when choosing, and using, a ladder for access or work at height? » Read More

28/10/2017 The height of good sense More than 4,000 people a year in the UK suffer major injuries from falls while working at height and it is a major cause of workplace death. Mark Venables explains that, while most of these incidents occur in construction, other sectors of ... » Read More

18/01/2014 The 46 reasons to take falls seriously Gravity is good. It causes dispersed matter to coalesce and ensures this combined material – which includes you and me – remains intact. It is also, literally, the force of nature that keeps our feet on the ground. There are, however, ... » Read More

12/02/2013 A head for heights Falls from height cause half of major injuries in the workplace, with most accidents occurring from a very unspectacular two metres or below. Max Gosney asks why the Working at Height Regulations are so badly misunderstood. » Read More

01/08/2012 Herculean effort or Olympic gold? As we go to press, with London on the final countdown to the 2012 Olympics, plant engineers – although excited by the spectacle and impressed by the scale of the interdisciplinary project engineering that has made it all happen – will ... » Read More

01/08/2012 Accidents waiting to happen? Although blessed with one of the best industrial health and safety records on the planet, statistics reveal that the UK cannot afford to become complacent. Brian Tinham examines problems and solutions » Read More

07/06/2011 Head for heights There are many concerns when it comes to working at height, not least cheap inferior products now flooding the UK market. Brian Wall reports » Read More

09/12/2010 Safe maintenance Following publication of Lord Young's report into improving health and safety, plant engineers need to get back to basics. Brian Tinham talks to Geoff Cox, HSE's head of manufacturing » Read More

07/06/2010 Zero tolerance Human nature dictates that issues around working at height and in confined spaces – accidents, deaths and outright negligence – will always be with us. Reality or defeatism? Brian Wall reports » Read More

01/06/2009 Highs and lows Working at height comes with clear - indeed often all too visible - dangers, of which more later. By contrast, in confined spaces, the hazards may be less evident, but nonetheless potentially fatal - with asphyxiation, entrapment, physical ... » Read More

01/06/2008 Heightened awareness Last year alone, 45 workers died following falls from height, while 3,409 were seriously injured. And while recent years have shown a downward trend, falls from height remain the most common cause of fatal injury in the workplace. ... » Read More

01/03/2008 Friends in high places Falls from height are the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the predominant causes of major injury in the UK. According to HSE statistics, 2006/07 falls from height accounted for 45 fatal accidents at work and 3,350 major ... » Read More

01/10/2005 Copycat scaffolding poses major threat Although perhaps more readily associated with building and construction, scaffolding is widely used throughout industry. Whether to meet a short-term access requirement or as part of a larger scale refurbishment project, the need to retain ... » Read More