Saving lives by stopping falls
Trustees & Governance
Constitution
The No Falls Foundation is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and has been entered onto the Register of Charities with the Registered Charity Number 1177494. It has been established for charitable purposes only for the public benefit.
Peter Bennett OBE, Chair
Peter is managing director of PASMA, the trade association representing the mobile access tower industry, and executive director of the Ladder Association. He sits on a number of national and international standard-setting bodies and has played a leading role in developing much of the guidance dedicated to advancing height safety. He is a past president of the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), and current chair of the Access Industry Forum (AIF), the forum for the eleven leading trade bodies involved in work at height in the UK. He was instrumental in the creation of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Working at Height, and is current chair of the No Falls Foundation. Peter also chairs the Test & Research Centre, a facility established and funded by PASMA and the Ladder Association to provide test, certification and research resource to improve work at height.
Steffan Groch, Trustee
Steffan is a partner and Head of Regulatory, Compliance and Investigations at international law firm DWF Solicitors based in Manchester. A leading expert in the health and safety sector, he is a former chair of the Health & Safety Lawyer’s Association, the professional association for solicitors and barristers practicing in areas associated with health and safety. Steffan speaks at various events nationally and is a popular presenter at AIF National Conferences. He was asked to contribute to the House of Commons Justice Select Committee on subjects such as sentencing guidelines, and is commended as ‘Best in UK’ in Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500.
Tony Seddon, Trustee
Tony holds a number of senior positions in the work at height sector. Directly involved in height safety since 2006 and a contributor to a number of national and international standard-setting bodies, Tony is managing director of Fall Arrest Safety Equipment Training (FASET). He is also company secretary of the Work at Height Safety Association (WAHSA), the UK Metal Decking Association (UKMDA) and the Specialist Access Engineering & Maintenance Association (SAEMA), the trade association focusing on raising standards in the UK permanent and temporary suspended access industry. Tony is a director of the Access Industry Forum (AIF) and on behalf of the Forum he regularly speaks on the topic of working at height at conferences, seminars and webinars.
Luke Collins, Trustee
Luke Collins joined Unite the Union in January 2023 as National Health and Safety Advisor. Luke is responsible for supporting the manufacturing, steel, aerospace/shipbuilding, foundry and automotive sectors amongst others. Luke has served as a Unite health and safety representative for several years before entering Occupational Health and Safety Management as a professional. He has worked in Automotive, Oil/Gas, Concrete Manufacturing and Food & Drink. Luke sits on a variety of industry advisory boards, works with regulators, trade associations and supports internal functions within Unite. He is passionate about working collaboratively, and endeavours to support colleagues to the best of his abilities. A father of two boys, who keep him on his toes. He has a keen interest in Football, Formula One, Fitness and a self-proclaimed book worm who is content with his boring lifestyle!
Clive Johnson, Trustee
Committed to ensuring that health receives the same billing as safety, Clive is Group Head of Health and Safety at Derwent London PLC and currently President of the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM). Prior to that he spent eight years in a similar position at Landsec PLC and was formerly HS&E Manager for Asda Wall*Mart and HS&E Lead for BAA on the Terminal 5 Project. Clive sits on the Building Safety Committee of the Construction Industry Council and the Executive Committee of the Health in Construction Leadership Group (HCLG) which includes HSE, IOSH and CITB. He was awarded the Freedom of the City of London for his work on health, safety and security and most recently has been asked by the Cabinet Office to be part of their Inclusive Economy Partnership Programme focusing on mental health.
David Thomas, Trustee
Now substantively retired, David is a Chartered Civil Engineer (CEng, FICE) and a Chartered Safety and Health Professional (CFIOSH). His career encompassed civil engineering design, research, engineering and management consultancy, enforcement and litigation, contracting, training and promoting best practice. He is known particularly for his contributions to safe work at height and the management of temporary works. As a former director of the Temporary Works Forum (TWf), he played a key role in advancing best practices and standards within the construction industry. When at the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), he held the technical lead on work at height issues and was adviser to its ‘Falls from Height’ Priority Programme. He has commissioned and promoted research into several areas of height safety, contributing and supporting the development of industry guidance in support of regulation. He is a former chair of BSI Technical Committee, Personal fall protection, and was awarded the ICE Garth Watson Medal in 2023.
Peter Douglas, Trustee
Peter has spent over 30 years in the working at height sector – 27 of those years with Nationwide Platforms, a major UK company in the powered access rental sector. Peter rose through the ranks at Nationwide to become UK operations director, and while with Nationwide served as a council and board member of the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF). Peter is now chief executive officer of IPAF, the not-for-profit member organisation tasked with promoting the safe use of powered access across the globe. Peter has a long standing passion for safety and throughout his career has been committed to reducing deaths and injuries resulting from falls from height.
Gillian Rutter, Trustee
Gillian has many landmark achievements to her name in an access industry traditionally dominated by men. Gillian is a director of Hire Access Ltd and runs and manages her own training company, Skyward Access Training Ltd. Her enthusiasm, commitment and knowledge of the access industry saw her rise to become the first ever woman chair of PASMA, the not-for-profit organisation representing the international mobile access tower industry. Gillian is a keen advocate of encouraging more women into the access industry and is believed to be the first woman ever to be elected chair at any of the major UK working at height associations.
Hannah Williams, Charity Manager
Hannah began her career in the work at height sector at Lyte Ladders and Towers in 2006. In 2009 Hannah was appointed to the board of directors serving in various positions until 2018. During her time at Lyte Hannah took a keen interest in improving height safety and sat on the governing bodies of both the Ladder Association and PASMA, including the Ladder Association’s Technical Committee. Her work experience embraces marketing, public relations, product development and product sourcing and Hannah is delighted to be continuing her interest in height safety by serving as manager of the No Falls Foundation.
