Formed in 2004, the Access Industry Forum (AIF) provides a
forum for all the principal trade associations and
federations involved in work at height. Here, Chris Kendall,
chair, AIF marketing and PR committee, explains more
about the work of the Forum

The 11 members of the Forum, which
now includes the British Safety
Industry Federation (BSIF), are
‘standards-driven’ and committed to
advancing safety, best practice and
competency when working at height.

Championing a system of accreditation
whereby all users of access equipment and
safety solutions, regardless of type, produce
formal and independent proof of training as
issued by its member organisations, the
Forum’s message is clear and consistent:
work safely and competently at height using
appropriate equipment with personnel
professionally trained to industry-recognised
standards.

‘Work at height accidents must stop!’ was
the Forum’s theme for the AIF Knowledge
Base at the 2012 Safety & Health Expo.

Following on from last year’s debate, it again
brought together key UK health and safety
organisations to address the topic ‘On the
trail of the Holy Grail: No more work at
height accidents, ever!’ Contributors
included representatives from IOSH, IIRSM,
RoSPA and the British Safety Council.

Comments AIF director, Neil Tomlinson,
who chaired this year’s debate: “Falls from
height continue to challenge safety
organisations and safety professionals. An
enormous amount of good work is being
done to reduce the risks, but it’s often being
done in isolation. The opportunity to
exchange ideas and developments seldom
occurs, and that’s where the AIF Knowledge
Base and the Holy Grail session comes in.

“It provides the platform to engage in
joined up thinking and acts as a catalyst for
collaboration and cooperation. It’s about
saving lives, reducing injuries and recognising
that if we all work together we will achieve
this objective faster and more effectively.”
So, can work at height accidents ever be
eliminated? The answer to this can best be
summed up by a comment from the very
first meeting, when Nigel Bryson
representing the British Safety Council said:
“The minute you say you can never design
out a problem means that you’ve stopped
looking!” Peter Bennett for the Forum
agreed: “We have to believe that the Holy
Grail is attainable.”
Helping to make it more attainable are
Toolbox Talks. Described by the HSE as ‘An
innovative way of getting key messages and
guidance about how to work at height safely
out to a wider audience,’ they have been
produced by AIF member organisations and
cover a wide range of topics including the
safe use of ladders and stepladders, fall
protection when using mobile access towers,
the role of scaffold handover certificates and
scaffold inspections, and guidance for
operatives using MEWPs in restricted
overhead spaces.

With a running time of approximately 10-
minutes, they can be viewed free online on
the Forum’s website and come with a short
questionnaire to assess understanding.

The Forum has welcomed the publication
of the Lofstedt Review and, in particular, the
fact that it acknowledges the problem lies
less with the regulations themselves, but
more with their interpretation. Comments
Peter Bennett: “We welcome a report that
proposes to simplify the regulations and by
doing so brings greater clarity and
understanding to their application.

However, we do have a number of
significant misgivings, not least of which is
the proposal to exempt self-employed
workers from certain requirements of health
and safety legislation.Working at height is
inherently hazardous and needs to be
properly controlled and managed.”
A key outcome for the Forum is the
recommendation that the Work at Height
Regulations and associated guidance should
be reviewed by April 2013. The regulations
are central to much of the work of the
Forum’s member organisations and have
informed an important part of their
guidance and best practice since their
introduction in 2005. The Forum looks
forward to making a significant contribution
to the review process going forward and is
reassured by the comment that ‘Any changes
to the (Work at Height) Regulations should
not result in an increased risk to employees
or others’.

For its part, the Forum will continue to
promote the link between training and
competency and act as a resource for
knowledge and information for work at height.