Could the ladder exchange help this salesman’s painful problem?

How to make the teaching of health and safety in business interesting and fun? Short of actually setting up some industrial accidents or combining with the chemistry department to create a mini Buncefield Oil Depot simulation, a good option is to use You Tube…

Take the cracking example below of how not to conduct a sales promotion. Whilst a highly satisfied customer waxes lyrical about the product features and benefits of the promoted ladder, disaster is just waiting to strike.

Ladder-related accidents are more common in the workplace than you might imagine. According to the Health & Safety Executive, during 2007/8, 58 workers died and 3,623 suffered a serious injury as a result of a fall from height. Ladders remain the most common agent involved and account for more than a quarter of all reported falls from height incidents.

In attempt to counter these sad statistics, the HSE is leading a “Ladder Exchange” programme, which has the aim of removing as many dodgy ladders from the workplace as possible.