IRATA at the AIF Conference

IRATA at the Access Industry Forum Conference - Bill Callaghan - Chair of the Health and Safety Commission, Ian Grenwood - Head of the Falls Team at the HSE, and Justine Lee - who heads the Construction Inspection Team of the HSE, were all guest speakers at the above event and were followed by five speakers from member associations of the AIF.

Bill Callaghan - Chair of the Health and Safety Commission, Ian Grenwood - Head of the Falls Team at the HSE, and Justine Lee - who heads the Construction Inspection Team of the HSE, were all guest speakers at the above event and were followed by five speakers from member associations of the AIF.

Representating IRATA, Graham Burnett described a case study undertaken by Total Access at Barking Power Station and demonstrated how rope access was an apposite means of access for that particular task. It was the most informative and relevant presentation of the day and served to further educate the full attendance of 120 delegates that IRATA offers effective work solutions to projects that other forms of access would struggle with or simply could not handle.

The HSE speakers confirmed that the 2006/7 accident stats for work at height were likely to show their first increase for some years with the fatal accident rate likely to increase by 20%. It had been highlighted that 'refurbishment work' was responsible for some 60% of slips, trips and falls and that SME companies were the most error-prone.

(Justine Lee and a number of her inspectors recently attended an 'awareness' day as guests of IRATA at which they received various presentations about the Association and the work it did in the UK. They reported great satisfaction with the day and agreed they had learned much from it)