Stockport builders' merchants Travis Perkins have joined forces with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to help reduce the risk of customers injuring themselves in falls from vehicles.
The Workplace Transport Campaign 2007 aims to increase the standards and awareness of risks involved in falling from vehicles amongst all those involved in materials delivered to construction sites.
Travis Perkins is holding a breakfast from 7.30am for customers at its premises on Haigh Avenue on the Whitehills Industrial Estate in Stockport on Tuesday 13 November.
HSE Health and Safety Awareness Officers Lynn Morgan and Karen Nicholson will be present all day to give advice on the campaign to customers.
Travis Perkins branch manager Andy Woodier says: "Three million people in UK work with or near vehicles in UK and annually there are 2,000 people seriously injured as a result of falling from a vehicle. 90 per cent of the injuries are from low falls, ie from below head height and on average there are five people killed each year as a result of a fall from a vehicle.
"Travis Perkins are thus delighted to support HSE in getting safety messages across to our customers to try to prevent such incidents."
HSE's Karen Nicholson says: "The estimated economic and human cost of falls from vehicles is about £36.7 million.
"The construction industry usually accounts for 20 per cent of all fatalities, 10 per cent of all major injuries and for about 15 per cent of 3-day injuries every year.
"Falls From Vehicles (FFV) accidents occur mostly when operatives are working on and loading/unloading the vehicle and getting on and off and a high proportion of construction accidents are occurring on flat bed vehicles and HGV’s, which in the construction industry are mostly our delivery vehicles.
"The campaign aims to raise awareness of the risk of falling that workers are exposed to when accessing and/or working at height on vehicles and the actions that should be taken to minimise these risks and will stress the planning for the safe unloading of goods before a site becomes active, and that responsibilities are clear.
"In all other industries it would appear that three-quarters of those injured are delivery drivers, in particular HGV drivers. However in Construction, 70 per cent of all FFV injuries occur to non-drivers, i.e. those who are involved in the unloading of delivery vehicles.
"We need to get our message across to site managers or persons who are directing the activities undertaken on the vehicles and in control of how they are carried out and those operatives who may access a vehicle to load or unload it on site."
(JM)
Construction News
09/11/2007
Stockport Builders Merchants' Breakfast To Help HSE Reduce Falls

11/07/2025
Story Homes has submitted a full planning application to South Ribble Borough Council for a proposed new residential development in Longton, aiming to build on the success of its nearby Longton Grange scheme.
With the majority of homes now sold at Longton Grange, the developer is looking to meet co

11/07/2025
Essar Energy Transition (EET), through its subsidiary EET Property Limited, has completed the acquisition of Thornton Science Park.
The 66-acre site includes purpose-built laboratories, industrial facilities, and office space, and is set to play a central role in EET's ambition to create one of Eur

11/07/2025
Families are preparing to move into four newly completed houses for affordable rent at the Malthouse Meadows development in West Sompting, Adur.
The latest handover marks a key milestone in the delivery of high-quality, energy-efficient homes aimed at addressing local housing needs.
The four fami

11/07/2025
Galliford Try's project team at the Syngenta manufacturing site in Huddersfield has been shortlisted in two categories at the 2025 Constructing Excellence (CE) Yorkshire and Humber Awards, celebrating the success and resilience of a long-standing partnership spanning over two decades.
The team has

11/07/2025
Cambridgeshire County Council has appointed Morgan Sindall Construction to deliver a new secondary school at the heart of the Alconbury Weald development, continuing its investment in the region's educational infrastructure.
The new school, named Alconbury Weald Church Academy, will be run by the D

11/07/2025
Passengers and residents in Stone, Staffordshire, are being urged to prepare for a £7 million-plus package of railway upgrades set to improve safety, performance and long-term reliability on the West Coast Main Line.
The work, scheduled to take place during the summer school holidays, will include

11/07/2025
A ceremonial tile signing has marked a major milestone in the restoration of the historic Pippbrook House, as roof-level works near completion on the Grade II* listed building in Dorking.
Chair of Mole Valley District Council (MVDC), Councillor Roger Adams, led the event, joined by a host of guests

11/07/2025
ACS Construction Group has been appointed Principal Contractor by GE Vernova for a major infrastructure expansion at its Stafford HVDC Transformers facility, part of the company’s drive to support global decarbonisation through advanced transformer technology.
ACS commenced with the Test Supply Bui

10/07/2025
Vistry Group has agreed two major deals with housing provider Abri to enable the delivery of almost 200 affordable homes across Hampshire, marking a significant step forward in addressing local housing needs.
In Funtley, near Fareham, Vistry has completed a simultaneous land acquisition and forward

10/07/2025
Caddick Construction has officially completed its first Midlands project with the handover of Mansion House, a six-storey residential development comprising 58 new apartments, to joint venture partners Urban Splash and Places for People.
Located on the 43-acre Port Loop island alongside Birmingham