Health and Safety is a very serious subject, but some people just don’t understand how serious they should be taking it. In many countries around the world, there is a much more relaxed approach to H&S compared to the UK, but you will also find some unbelievable cases of health and safety negligence in the UK.
Here are some of the worst cases of health and safety gone wrong:
Ladders propped on something unsteady
We have seen so many examples of people propping ladders onto another pair of ladders or on top of an unsecured platform to gain some extra height, with many of these incidents ending in injuries.
Carrying heavy loads on mopeds
You don’t see too many cases of this in the UK but in countries where mopeds are a very popular mode of transport and health and safety regulations are quite lax, you see people transporting heavy loads and even dangerous loads on two wheels. There are lots of cases of police in the UK stopping vehicles for not securing dangerous loads though, we even saw a case where a skip company piled two skips on top of each other to transport them.
Smoking near flammables
Smokers in petrol stations and smokers in the workplace sometimes put their own life, as well as many other lives at risk in the desperation to have a quick smoke, despite the dangers of a lit cigarette coming into contact with flammable materials.
Electrical wiring mishaps
Electrical wiring should always be left to the experts, but some people just cannot help themselves and try and fix a fault or even misjudge where the wiring will lie behind a wall. This is what voltage detectors were invented for, people!
Climbing onto unsteady objects
Another common H&S fail is where people working at height cannot be bothered to find some ladders, so they decide to climb up anything from trees to chairs stacked on top of tables to reach the area they are working on.
Bursting a pipe
Whether it is DIY gone wrong or accidents on a worksite, a regular issue where people do not take the right precautions is bursting a pipe. If there are electricals nearby, this turns into a major health and safety issue.
Throwing and catching items
In the quest to save time, we see people who have thrown items to their co-workers with disastrous consequences. From causing an injury to the ‘catcher’ to damaging property, this is a H&S shortcut that often goes wrong.
Falling through a roof
A common cause of injury in the UK is roofers or other types of construction workers standing on an area of roofing that is not strong enough to hold their weight and falling through, often sustaining serious injuries.
Unfortunately, even the most experienced workers get tempted to save time sometimes, which is why it is really important to have effective health and safety measures in place, as well as ensuring the right PPE is always worn.
Get stocked up on the correct workwear and PPE from Hivis.net to prevent injuries like these in your workplace.
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