I just had an "Advisory Visit" by a Visiting Officer from the Health and Safety Executive. It seems they are running a campaign to highlight the dangers of solar panel work, with a particular focus on the roofing dimension (rather than electrical). He was very pleasant and I showed him our photos of scaffolding and working at height certificates etc. He was also interested in our H&S policy, risk assessments, method statements etc. He talked a bit about PPE, hoists, asbestos and gave me a long list of "incidents" where companies had been investigated for failing to comply with regs. Most of the fatalities involved falling through skylights and weren't actually related to solar.
The one point we "failed" on was not having PASMA qualifications which are apparently required to erect and dismantle scaffolding towers. We just hired one once and used it ourselves but apparently this isn't allowed without training. He said we were pretty good compared to the other companies he'd visited.
The visit was arranged in advance so it wasn't a "raid". He said we were the 4th installer he had visited this year so YOU could be next....
The one point we "failed" on was not having PASMA qualifications which are apparently required to erect and dismantle scaffolding towers. We just hired one once and used it ourselves but apparently this isn't allowed without training. He said we were pretty good compared to the other companies he'd visited.
The visit was arranged in advance so it wasn't a "raid". He said we were the 4th installer he had visited this year so YOU could be next....
