HSL is to run a 1 day course on Stair Assessment.

25 June 2013

Introduction

Stairs present significant potential for harm to their users. A fall on stairs, particularly in descent, often leads to serious injury or even death. Around 20% of all major injuries reported to HSE in 2008/2009 which resulted from slips, trips and falls from height occurred on stairs.

 For new build stairs, the Building Regulations provide minimum design requirements for safety.  The Regulations are updated periodically and, crucially, they do not apply retrospectively.  As a result there are a great number of staircases that pre-date the current Regulations and so would have been built to a lower standard with regards to safety. It is notable that stairs are generally built to the minimum requirement, rather than being designed with optimal dimensions. HSL forensic investigations into the causes of stair accidents have often found the incident to be wholly or partly caused by poor stair design.  In addition, some accident investigations have identified stairs that would not have met the required standard at the time of construction.  Given the number of serious accidents on stairs, there is a clear need to understand the risks posed by specific stairs by way of assessment.

 HSL offer a training course in stair fall assessment which will allow delegates to understand the design features of stairs which can give rise to a risk of falling, undertake a stair fall assessment and identify simple remedial solutions to reduce the likelihood of a fall occurring.

 The course will include:

• Background on the common design issues that give rise to a risk of falls on stairs
• Examples of HSL stair investigations and the findings to illustrate common issues and consequences
• A demonstration of some simple tools for assessing common stair features (stair assessment tools will be provided as part of the training)
• An opportunity for delegates to assess stairs themselves and seek feedback from the expert

By the end of the training delegates will have an understanding of simple tools for the assessment of stair design features and be able to undertake an assessment of stairs in relation to current standards and legal requirements.

Assessment tools developed by HSL will be provided as part of the training.

This training will give delegates the skills to assess stairs in their own premises, both internal and external, identify examples of good and bad practice and make simple improvements where necessary. This is  training can also be undertaken at the clients premises, this will allow an expert opinion to be given for free on the stairs studied as part of the training.

Who should attend?

Anyone who is interested in understanding falls on stairs or who has responsibility for managing health and safety.

Venue

It is recommended that the training is undertaken at the clients premises, as this will also allow an expert opinion to be given for free on the stairs studied as part of the training. Alternatively the course can be run at HSL in the spa town of Buxton.

Cost

The full cost of the course is £350 per person (includes course notes, lunch and refreshments and assessment tool developed by HSL).

Please note the invoice option is not available within 4 weeks of the course date.

For further information email: training@hsl.gsi.gov.uk or contact the Training Unit at HSL directly on 01298 218806.

Details of hotels in the Buxton area can be found at www.visitpeakdistrict.com

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