Posted By John Bouch Does anyone have any information on the use of air bags to prevent falls of over 2m. Used mainly in the house construction market. Any help or guidance would be much appreciated

Posted By Gary Cutter Hi Try and speak with Dr Mark Cooper at Aston University. I think they have been doing some research with HSE about air-bags. His number is 0121 359 3611. Regards Gary Cutter

Posted By Ken Urquhart John. This may sound a bit far fetched but it is true and I have eluded to it in these columns before. I am based in Hong kong and some 4 or 5 monhs ago I saw an article in an Asian, (From Japan) Business magazine where there was an item on a garment,rather like a Hi-viz waistcoat cum Life jacket if I may describe it like that. The idea was as I understood the text, that the garment was an Air Bag and that if you fell from a relatively low level whilst wearing it, the sensors would activate, inflate the garment and provide what I could probably only describe as a Michelin man type upper body protector that when you impacted at the end of your fall, gave you protection and minimised injury severity. Unfortuneately I put the magazine down and it has since been disposed of by person or persons unknown and I have ever since been trying to find the origins of the article and the device. I am still searching and if I come across the system and the information, rest assured that I shall post the details on these pages. Equally if anyone else out there in the Asia Pacific region is reading this and has any information please pass it on via this chat forum or e-mail me at: kenurquhart@pccw.com Remember, you heard it on the IOSH Chat forum FIRST. Regards. ken

Posted By Ken Urquhart Response for Richard. Thanks Richard, I will check it out along the lines that you suggest and get back to the forum when and if I have some news. The original article that I saw definitely targeted the dvice at Construction and falls from Height. Anyway, thanks again for your input. Regards. Ken