We speak with Neil Wilson, Director of fallarrest.com, rooflightcovers.com and harnesses.com, to get his industry expert opinion...
I started out 25 years ago to help another person in the office, as the fall protection department was growing. The person then left shortly after to pursue another role, so I was kind of dropped in the deep end of learning!
An opportunity arose to assist another person who was running the fall protection part of the business, I started learning, loved the job, what it entailed, keeping people safe, working on amazing buildings, the job is certainly different from many others.
We train our own sub-contracted and contracted labour, and we find this is a better route. In the past our hands had been forced into using the services of ‘labour master’ type outfits, but they generally didn’t work out particularly well.
Our family business is 50 years old this year, and the fall protection business 25.
The entry into fall protection was that our business used to be a huge flat roofing contractor, one of the biggest on the South Coast, and we were seeing these ‘fall protection systems’ on a number of roofs, so we sought out becoming trained and approved in these systems so that we could add value, and safety, for our clients.
Way too many to list over 25 years, but I did receive a message once to call back a client whose name was ‘Paul Mycock’.
I was certain that it was a friend on the wind up, so I called back, and muttered the name quickly, to which the response from the receptionist was ‘I will just put you through’!
Many! Bomber Command, Ipswich Football Club, Chelsea Football Club, The Mary Rose Museum, Terminal 2 Dublin Airport, BBC Studios (Wales), Bovington Tank Museum, The last D Day landing boat, Shania Twain’s old house, Nigel Mansell's museum, The Shell Building (Waterloo), De La Rue (where they make paper that makes money), Bournemouth International Centre, and quite a few famous people's houses.
Our company installed the very first Latchways Mansafe Constant Force Post system, as well as the first constant force post system to a Bauder roofing system,.
We were the originator of the 2.3m restraint line position and the originators of what is called ‘Fit for Purpose’ document by MSA Latchways.
Yes, the issue arises with poor practice, mainly by building owners, and clients who simply either do not care, or think that an accident will never happen to them.
What is more concerning is the fall protection contractors who will do anything to secure works, even telling lies, placing people in quite serious danger.
There are however, rumours in the market places that some of the newer standards have been written to benefit certain manufacturers of fall protection, which is also a little concerning.
This is a difficult question. I have seen case studies posted online, and on companies websites (some who are considered the biggest, and best) with images and information that goes against legislation. We have gone to the lengths of contacting them, and they don’t care.
It is all about the £££ for most, and it is not right that these contractors provide false information and undertake services that they shouldn’t, and that they know will cause the end user issues. This means that managers are being taught the wrong way.
Well, fallarrest.com is a great starting point!
We noticed a gap in the market where there was nothing quite like the site that we have produced and developed. The HSE's working from height info is a good source, but from an honest perspective standpoint, I would say that fallarrest.com is the best source!
There are not that many new products to be fair, but LinkedIn is a great source, as well as various notifications that are received by e-mail, and our supply chain partners are always abreast of the current products, and will alert us about new products.
Keeping people safe! I often receive messages for advice and assistance, and being a 25 year strong company, our knowledge is broad in the industry.
There are systems in place that companies are testing that they have never even seen before, or know the legislation, so being a leader in our field helps!
I also have a passion for marketing, to which I have taught myself, so the domains (I have some 150 registered) that I have developed thus far, five in total, keep my brain ticking, and I am always trying to improve them.
We offer much of our advisory services totally free of charge.
Tell them that if they think that health and safety is expensive, wait until they have an accident on their site!
Think about people who may never walk again, or go home again simply for going to work. Think about these peoples families, friends, and how they would feel if they were being forced to work so unsafely.
Not a lot. It will good at creating AI images of working at height, and maybe able to work out designs, models, etc, but whilst AI is good, I feel that the human touch is going to be around for a long time!
