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 of the No Falls Foundation
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.
Hannah Williams
Charity Manager
Hannah serves as the Charity Manager for the No Falls Foundation, having 20 years’ experience and knowledge of the work at height sector.
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.
Luke Collins
Trustee
Luke 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!
Steffan Groch
Trustee
Steffan is a partner and Head of Regulatory, Compliance and Investigations at international law firm DWF Solicitors based in Manchester, and is 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.
Hash Maitra
Trustee
A chartered civil engineer and Fellow of ICE, Hash has been working in construction since 1978 for design consultants and contractors up to 1992.
Between 1992 and 2005 he was one of HM Specialist Inspectors for health and safety and from 1996 was HSE’s technical expert for work at height and CDM. He was on the teams that drafted CDM 2007 and Work at Height 2005 Regulations. Between 2005 and 2023, Hash was a regional director at AECOM, where he provided CDM-C/PD services to a variety of clients on over 100 projects varying from £350k refurbishments to £270M new builds. From 2010 he has acted as an expert witness in over 130 health and safety cases, covering work at height and CDM. He is now a director of 3EA Consultancy Limited working exclusively as an expert witness.
Karen McDonnell
Trustee
Karen is a highly motivated advocate for safety and health, skilled in partnership working, with a track record of working with and through key stakeholders across the world.
She has a broad range of strategic and operational experience gained over 35 years whilst working for RoSPA, the UK’s leading accident prevention charity. Articulating the benefits of ‘whole person whole life’ approach to OHS that puts people at the heart of sustainability in the UK and wider world.
Falls from height don’t need to happen and the stalling of progress in tackling the leading cause of workplace fatalities and major injuries is unacceptable.
Karen looks forward to keeping this topic on the agenda and raising awareness of the No Falls Foundation.
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.
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.
Tony Seddon
Trustee
Tony holds a number of senior positions in the work at height sector. He has been directly involved in height safety since 2006 and contributes 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.
David Thomas
Trustee
Now substantively retired, David is a Chartered Civil Engineer (CEng, FICE) and Chartered Safety & Health Professional (CFIOSH), known for his contributions to safe work at height and the management of temporary works.
His career encompassed civil engineering design, research, engineering and management consultancy, enforcement and litigation, contracting, training and promoting best practice. 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.
Richard Whiting
Trustee
Richard serves as the UK General Manager for the not-for-profit membership organisation the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), where he leads market operations across the UK and Ireland.
In this role, he works closely with members, manufacturers, rental companies, and training providers to strengthen industry engagement and promote the safe and effective use of powered access equipment.
An active member of the Access Industry Forum, Richard has a longstanding passion for improving safety across the sector. He is a strong advocate for learning through accident reporting and believes that sharing real-world insights is essential for preventing future incidents. Through his work and industry involvement, he remains committed to reducing deaths and injuries resulting from falls from height.
