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“Construction has the largest number of fatal injuries of all the main industry groups,” says Geoff Hooke, Secretary General of the BSIF, the safety industry’s leading trade body. “And although the last 15 years overall has shown a downward trend in the rate of fatal injury to workers, the most recent five years has shown little change. There has also been a slight rise in major injuries in the sector this year.”
The BSIF says that the credit crunch has already had its effect on the construction sector, with 15% less orders placed in the last three months and orders in the private housing sector falling by 33%.
This has put extra pressure on construction workers who have to work smarter in order to remain competitive and win business, the group claims. “It’s important that this doesn’t mean cutting corners - especially where safety is concerned,” says Geoff. He points out that more than 30% of all worker deaths occur within the construction industry (more than 2,800 people have died of work-related injuries in the sector in the past 25 years), and says it is more important than ever that adequate safety procedures are in place. “This means adequate risk assessment procedures, undertaken by competent professionals and adequate health and safety training for key personnel.”
He concludes: “The construction downturn cannot be used as an excuse for paying less attention to safety - in fact quite the contrary! If the construction industry does not manage health and safety then accidents will continue to occur, with far reaching consequences!”
Slips, trips and falls are no joke
A total of 61 people died and more than 14,000 suffered serious injury as a result of a slip, trip or fall from height in British workplaces last year. These shocking statistics have prompted the launch of an awareness raising campaign from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
The second phase of the Shattered Lives campaign was launched today to highlight the devastating consequences of slips, trips and falls in the workplace and to encourage employers, in consultation
with their employees, to ‘take action’.
Marcia Davies, HSE Head of the Injury Reduction Programme said, “People often view slips, trips and falls as trivial incidents, even comical but they are no joke to those who suffer major injuries, a lifetime of disability, time off work and in the worst cases death.
“We want to raise awareness of how these incidents can happen and how they can be easily avoided by taking common sense actions and precautions at no or little cost. If you spot a hazard in your workplace deal with it, don’t assume that somebody else will.
“The lives of workers and their families are shattered by the serious consequences of these types of accidents. Simple measures introduced by businesses can make a positive difference to safety in the workplace.”
Fatalities and serious injuries arising from slips, trips and fall incidents cost British society an estimated £700 million last year.
The campaign is targeted at seven sectors where there is a prevalence of such injuries: food retail, catering and hospitality, food and drink manufacturing, building and plant maintenance, construction, healthcare and education, although the risks can occur in any workplace.
To help businesses take preventive action the HSE launched STEP - an interactive learning package that provides practical guidance to help users tackle slips, trips and falls in their workplace.
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