The Access Industry Forum (AIF), the forum for all the principal trade bodies involved in work at height, will again be sponsoring the Working at Height Knowledge Base and Information Centre at the Safety & Health Expo, May 14-16, at the NEC in Birmingham.
Expert speakers will discuss and debate the key issues and deliver information and insights on a wide range of WAH-related topics.
On the Expo’s opening day, AIF member organisations from various specialised work at height fields will provide practical insights and guidance on overcoming specific workplace challenges. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) will also be speaking about its review of the Work at Height Regulations and the new, simplified guidance accompanying it.
The second day will focus on those organisations seeking the ‘Holy Grail’ – “no more work at height accidents, ever!” – who will report on their progress in addressing an AIF call to action to develop a pan-industry reporting system for incidents involving falls from height to help effectively gather meaningful information to inform product design, industry training and guidance and target action.
Making his debut in the Knowledge Base will be Paul Blanchard, a victim of a fall from height. An experienced builder, after falling through a fragile roof he is now confined to a wheelchair. “My life isn’t over, but I don’t half miss it,” he says when recounting his powerful and compelling story.
Since its formation in 2004, and increasingly in the last four years, the AIF has been helping to set the work at height agenda. It acts as a catalyst for the sharing of ideas and the exchanging of information - not just internally amongst its fellow member organisations, but externally with other trade associations and professional bodies such as APS, BSC, IIRSM, IOSH and RoSPA. All these organisations, and others, will be represented in the Knowledge Base this year.
As in previous years, queries about working at height will be answered in the AIF Information Centre by AIF members ATLAS, BSiF, EPF, IPAF, IRATA, FASET, the Ladder Association, PASMA, SAEMA and WAHSA.
Liaising closely with trade and professional bodies, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and industry at large, the Access Industry Forum (AIF) provides a forum for all the principal trade associations and federations involved in work at height.
Each organisation represents a different facet of the work at height sector and is a recognised specialist and authority in its respective field. Committed to advancing safety and best practice, it advocates the need to work safely and competently at height using appropriate equipment with personnel formally trained to industry-recognised standards.