HSE warning to construction industry to improve performance

HSE Press Release E162:02 - 15 August 2002

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned the construction industry to improve in the key areas of its health, safety and welfare performance, before inspectors call.

The Warning is spelt out in a new work plan construction inspectors will use in the year ahead. It describes the issues inspectors will concentrate on and groups being targeted as those most likely to influence change. A summary of the work plan can be accessed on HSE's website at www.hse.gov.uk/press/2002/construct.htm.

During planned visits inspectors will concentrate on falls from height and transport incidents, which collectively cause most fatal and major injuries, and ill-health caused by manual handling; Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS); noise induced hearing loss and allergic dermatitis, all of which are on the increase.

Inspectors will also target their visits, covering interventions with government departments where they act as clients; small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and sole traders; the workforce; larger projects and CDM duty holders, and manufacturers/ suppliers of formwork and false work.

They will also work in partnership with trade bodies to arrange a series of free 'awareness raising' events across the country, which SMEs and sole traders will be able to attend and discuss how to improve health, safety and welfare arrangements in their businesses.

Richard Boland, HSE principal inspector leading the team which drew up the work programme, said:

"The health and safety performance of the construction industry needs radical improvement. We will target those hazards, which make the biggest contribution to the toll of death, injury and ill health. If duty holders, suppliers, site managers, and workers know what we will be looking out for before we come, then there can be no excuses if our inspectors uncover breaches of the law and poor health, safety and welfare standards.

"Our interventions are aimed at encouraging greater commitment to improved health and safety performance from all those in the construction procurement and supply chain; to encourage better communication and co-operation, and to promote the development of a competent workforce at all levels.

"Our priorities for the year are to help the industry reduce the toll of serious accidents caused by poor transport management and falls from height; reduce the incidence of cement dermatitis; reverse the increased incidence of HAVS; and reduce worker exposure to noise and the risk of musculo skeletal injury.

"These are the issues on which our inspectors will be concentrating during preventative inspections. Employers and others in the industry can take action now to assess their own performance and arrangements for controlling risk in these areas. This will ensure that their efforts are being targeted on matters that are most likely to reduce the industry's toll of injuries and ill health."

Notes to editors

1. A summary of the Construction Division's priorities for planned interventions in 2002/03 is available on the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk/press/2002/construct.htm.

2. Falls from height, transport and welfare issues are construction priorities that form part of the Revitalising Health and Safety Campaign. Revitalising Health and Safety, published in June 2000, is a Government and Health and Safety Commission (HSC) initiative that sets targets for the nation to reduce work-related deaths, ill health and injury in Great Britain. More details about Revitalising Health and Safety can be found on the HSE website on www.hse.gov.uk/revitalising/index.htm

3. Between 1 April 2000 and 31 March 2001 there were 114 fatal injuries in the construction industry, eight of which were to members of the public. A further 5,046 people suffered major injuries, 317 of whom were members of the public. 9,920 workers in the construction industry suffered injuries that kept them off work for more than three days.

44 per cent of fatal injuries to workers in construction between 1 April 2000 and 31 March 2001 were caused by falls from height; 17 per cent - struck by moving vehicles, 8 per cent - struck by moving/falling object, 17 per cent - trapped by something collapsing/overturning, 14 per cent - other. (Health and Safety Statistics 2000/01).

Provisional figures show that there were 79 fatal injuries to construction workers in 2001/02, accounting for 32 per cent of all worker fatalities.

4. The construction industry has committed to a step change in performance. This was demonstrated through setting challenging Revitalising targets and adopting action plans at the Construction Safety Summit, which took place on 27 February 2001. The construction industry set the following Revitalising targets for improvement.

To reduce:

• the incidence rate of fatalities and major injuries by 40 per cent by 2004/5 and 66 per cent by 2009/10;
• the incidence rate of cases of work-related ill health by 20 per cent by 2004/5 and 50 per cent by 2009/10:
• the number of working days lost from work-related injury and ill health by 20 per cent by 2004/5 and by 50 per cent by 2009/10.

Press enquiries

All enquiries from journalists should be directed to the HSE Press Office