We all know the importance of being safe and acting in a way that keeps us free from danger and physical harm. However, accidents are still happening across safety-critical industries with alarming frequency, and while it's true that accidents are sometimes beyond our control, more often than not, they are avoidable with the right attitude. And it's having the right attitude to safety that’s the focus of this article. 

We spoke to Dylan Skelhorn, a fall from height survivor and inventor of Ladder Locker who now works as a motivational speaker about how his accident occurred, how it could have been avoided, and most importantly the shared responsibility of employees and employers to keep safety front and centre in the workplace. 

Dylan’s Story 

Dylan fell 33 feet when a chimney stack he was working on collapsed. And even though he asked for a safety harness, he was not given one. And not only did Dylan’s employer at the time deny him the safety harness he should have had, they lied to him about it. He explains: 

‘They told me they had a special dispensation which meant I didn't need a safety harness - which I didn't believe. I later found out that indeed no such dispensation existed. They were simply cutting corners to avoid spending the time and money to provide me and my colleagues with the right equipment to protect us. In hindsight, I should have walked out the door, and had planned to do so because I didn't feel safe there, but like so many people in my position, I had bills to pay.' 

As well as this, despite the fact Dylan asked, no one was made available to foot his ladder to keep it steady. 

‘I had worked as a firefighter previously, so I knew the importance of having someone at the bottom of your ladder to stop it from moving, but when I asked, I was told by the foreman that "the boss isn't going to pay someone to stand around holding your ladder." The company had a very poor safety culture.'

When the chimney stack collapsed, without a harness, Dylan fell headfirst. But as he descended, he tried to grab the ladder beneath him to stop his fall. But, as no-one was there at the foot of the ladder, when he grabbed it, it moved and fell, causing Dylan to crash to the ground, hitting a brick wall on the way down. 

(pictured: Dylan giving a talk on the importance of having the right safety culture in the workplace)

Ultimately, Dylan was let down by his employer TWICE. A harness would have stopped him falling, and a ladder footer would have reduced the impact of his fall. Even if one of the two safety precautions had been in place, Dylan would not have sustained the injuries he did, and had his life so profoundly altered.

Even more shockingly, after Dylan's accident, his employer even went as far as making a fake dispensation, claiming it was an official HSE document to try to make it seem as if the accident was his fault, rather than theirs.    

SAFETY COMES FROM THE TOP

Dylan’s story is a lesson to us all not just about the life changing effects of falls from height, but also how it's often easy to assume that safety in the workplace is solely the individual worker's responsibility. In actual fact, it's ultimately the employer that has to set the standard for safety and uphold their legal duty of care to keep staff free from harm and injury. 

'Safety is a two-way street' says Dylan. 'Employers need to ensure that workers have the right equipment. But if safety doesn't come from the top, then employees are fighting an uphill battle.' 

That's not to say that individuals on site don't have to be conscientious about their own safety - this is of course vital - but when the company promotes the right safety attitude, this sets the tone throughout the workforce.

Providing the right training so those using ladders are competent is crucial, as is monitoring the ongoing safety standards of a workplace, but equally essential is that the employer and employees know the law too. 

For example, ladders should only be used for work at height as a last resort, if the use of other equipment like a scissor lift or mobile tower scaffold is not justified because there’s minimal risk or a short duration of use.

And short duration means no more than 30 minutes. Any longer than that, and a ladder is no longer deemed a safe or justifiable piece of equipment to use when working at height. Are these kind of details adhered to on every site? Do all employers and company managers even know about them?   

SAFETY AS A VALUE 

‘The difficulty with safety that employers face is that they are all trying to be profitable’ says Dylan. ‘That's why they exist and what they have to be to survive. In fact, I hear a lot of companies say "making our business as safe as possible is our number one priority." But in reality, safety can never be their number one priority, as businesses exist to make profit - but safety can be their number one value.'  

SAFETY FOR THE RIGHT REASONS

When safety is the number one value for both employees and employers and the correct safety measures are put in place, you get the safest version of a company, where risk is anticipated and therefore reduced, and the attitude of 'it won't happen to me' is replaced by: 'it won't happen to me because I've taken these precautions.' 

When asked about what individuals can do, Dylan’s message is clear. 

'Be safe for the right reason. Don't just do it because the HSE and your employer tells you to - do it for yourself and your family as well.' 

Hearing Dylan's story and his thoughts on safety reminds us of an important thing. PPE is often talked of as the last line of defence against injury, but the potential for these hazards to occur and threaten staff is greatly lessened if a company and employees have safety as their number one value. In other words, if the last line of defence is PPE, the line before it must be safety.  

You can find out more about how Dylan shares his safety story around the country and his invention - Ladder Locker here.