Ladder Exchange Initiative – Coming September 2009

As part of the Health and Safety Executive's Shattered Lives Campaign, they will be running this year's annual Ladder Exchange Initiative from 1st September until 31st December 2009.
If you have a ladder which is bent, broken or battered, you can take it to any of the HSE's partner outlets and part exchange it for a new one. Duty holders are also provided with the opportunity to review pre-use checks, training, supervision and other arrangements for ladder work.
The Ladder Exchange Initiative will now be an annual occurrence due to the last previous two year's success. The HSE's collaborative work with Local Authorities and partner outlets has removed over 5,000 dodgy ladders from the work place.
Working at height is a high risk activity and in 2007/2008, 58 workers died and 3,623 suffered serious injuries from falling from height. Of all reported falls from height incidents, the use of ladders is accountable for a third of these.