CONIAC resource provides key messages to all involved in work at height
Leading construction industry body CONIAC (the Construction Industry Advisory Council) has produced a guide entitled ‘Safety Steps’, designed to help anyone looking to ensure safe work at height.
‘Safety Steps’ is aimed primarily at five key work at height audiences: designers, clients, managers (those who manage work at height), supervisors and operatives.
The document has been produced by the ‘Managing Risk Well’ Group, a leading safety group within CONIAC. Safety Steps can be used freely – in whole or part – to help produce any type of output for the five target audiences shown above, such as:
- Training materials
- Flow charts/infographics
- Toolbox talks/checklists
- Poster/sticker campaigns
- Social media campaigns
- Rules and guidelines
- Articles
Paul Reeve CFIOSH, chair of the sub-group that produced ‘Safety Steps’, commented:
“’Safety Steps’ provides the essential safety messages for the five key groups involved in work at height in construction and maintenance. It’s designed as an ‘enabling’ guide – meaning it can help anyone to produce, or just check, virtually any type of output that’s looking to support safe work at height”.
‘Safety Steps’ covers general, rather than task-specific, messages (e.g. using scaffolding, mobile work platforms or working on roofs). However, its essential messages underpin any type of work at height activity.
A key aim of the document is to help do away with continually redefining or looking for the essential messages for ensuring safe work at height. ‘Safety Steps’ provides the key messages in one place, making it a valuable, long-term reference point for industry.
Peter Bennett OBE, chair of the AIF, commented:
“‘Safety Steps clearly explains – for everyone involved in the stakeholder chain – what they need to know about safe working at height, all in one easy to access, easy to use resource. We are pleased to host Safety Steps on the AIF website and we believe it could become a long-term ‘go to’ resource for the industry.”
Sarah Jardine, Acting Head of Construction Division, HSE, adds:
“I am grateful to the CONIAC Managing Risk Well Group and in particular the Work at Height sub-group, for developing the Safety Steps guide. This is an excellent example of the construction industry and HSE working together.”
Safety Steps is free to access and use, and it is hosted at: accessindustryforum.org.uk/safety-steps
The resource will be maintained by CONIAC, via the ‘Managing Risk Well’ Group. Comments on ‘Safety Steps’ are welcome at any time and may be submitted using a feedback form for further consideration within CONIAC.
