Pioneering work by the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF) to reduce accidents in the food and drink industry has been endorsed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the United Kingdom.
The Guidance for Working at Height (WAH) on refrigerated vehicles was developed over four years by the BFFF under the leadership of Joanna Hancock, head of health and safety, with assistance from the Food Storage and Distribution Federation (FSDF) as well as input from 30 stakeholders.
Until now, engineers working at height on vehicles and trailers were doing so without detailed industry guidance on good practice.
The project involved establishing a working group to create new protocols, holding detailed negotiations with stakeholders and practical demonstrations to illustrate the effectiveness of the new safety guidance. BFFF intend to include further examples of industry best practice into the guidance in the coming months.
Commenting on the WAH guidance, Warren Pennington, HM inspector of health and safety said: “Falls from height account for 6% of all accidents in the food and drink sector, and I congratulate the BFFF’s leadership here in writing guidance which helps to address this.”
The guidance gives operators, contractors and engineers clarity on how the regulations relevant to their operation can be put into practice. This includes an example of the practical implementation of the hierarchy of control measures to be considered when working at height, which must be followed systematically.
Joanna Hancock, BFFF’s health, safety and projects manager, said: “After many years of collaboration, we are delighted to publish this guidance for the industry on this extremely important area. We are encouraging all industry stakeholders to embrace the guidance and continue working on improving safety within the sector, while working towards avoiding the need to work at height in the future.”
As well as being endorsed by the HSE, the guidance has been developed in full consultation with BFFF’s Primary Authority Wakefield MSC.
For a copy of the guidance in full, contact crystalholmes@bfff.co.uk
About the BFFF
Based in Long Bennington, England, the British Frozen Food Federation
BFFF is the leading trade association for the frozen food sector. Its mission is to promote and protect the interests of the frozen food industry. Members cover the whole of the entire cold chain of supply.
The association campaigns with its members to educate, promote and inform consumers, retailers and the foodservice sector about the value of frozen food.
