Health and safety officer caught on camera in ladder fall

Posted on 14th Feb, 2012 | By Lorretta Tatham

The BBC recently reported a health and safety officer of a construction company being suspended after a video of him falling off a ladder was posted on YouTube.

He was teaching his colleagues a new safety measure when he was filmed falling off an industrial ladder outside a house.

The employee attempted to demonstrate how a safety belt kept him attached to the ladder even when he spun round it. Seconds later he fell into a neighbouring garden.

One worker observed: “That proves the system doesn’t work then.”

The video of the infamous fall from the industrial ladder was later posted on YouTube and was viewed 78,000 times.

Although he is understood to have not been seriously hurt in the fall, he has been suspended for not following basic working at height rules, including not attaching the industrial ladder to the wall.

The director of health and safety posted: “We are dismayed by this isolated event, resulting from an individual deciding not to comply with our stringent H&S standards.

“This has led to suspension, pending investigation. We strive to ensure that everyone gets home safely, every day and are proud to have one of the lowest accident rates in our sector.

“Please be assured that we have responded appropriately to this incident and that we will always endeavour to operate to the highest safety standards.”

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