DON'T FALL FOR IT

HSE press release: E088:03 - 2 June 2003

Since the beginning of April of this year, six construction workers have died after falling from height. Falls from height remain the single biggest cause of death, disability and injury in construction in Great Britain, accounting for almost half of all deaths and nearly a third of major injuries in 2001/2. In the last five years 211 workers have died and 8418 workers have sustained major injuries from falls from height.

Gary Seber, survivor of a fall from height, together with Kevin Myers, Chief Inspector of Construction, today launched 'Don't Fall For It', a Europe-wide inspection-led campaign to reduce falls from height, at the University College Hospital (London) construction site on Euston Road.

Gary Seber survived a near fatal accident when he fell 20 metres onto a concrete slab from a cradle suspended at the seventh level of a hotel construction site. Mr Seber sustained major injuries in the incident, including head injuries when the track that the cradle was suspended from suddenly broke, tipping the cradle to a vertical position. The incident occurred at the Canary Riverside Hotel (now the Four Seasons Hotel), West Ferry Road, London, E14 on 1 September 1999.

Mr Seber said: "I don't remember the day that I fell and I was unconscious for over a week afterwards. But my family went to hell and back at the time, thinking I was going to die. After eighteen months I managed to get back to work, but I will never recover fully from some of the injuries I have sustained. I'm lucky to be alive today. I wouldn't want anyone else or their families go through what we have been through and I would like to thank my wife, family and the Royal London Hospital."

The 'Don't Fall For It' campaign was launched on the first day of a two-week national blitz of Health and Safety Executive (HSE) construction inspectors visiting sites across the country looking specifically at falls from height risks and the start of a national advertising campaign.

Kevin Myers, Chief Inspector for Construction said: "Gary Seber's accident, like most other falls from height in construction, was avoidable. Gary suffered permanent injuries because a piece of equipment was not properly installed and consequently failed. Many falls incidents result from simple deficiencies in planning and organising work, getting the most appropriate equipment to site and ensuring it is used correctly. There is no excuse for failing to anticipate, this most obvious of risks in construction and putting in place the tried and tested solutions that already exist. Together, all of us involved in the construction industry, must combat this main cause of major injuries and deaths of construction workers.

"'Don't Fall For It' is a major Europe-wide campaign aimed at reducing falls from height in construction. Through nation-wide site inspections and with the national advertising campaign, both starting today, the HSE aims to assist industry in focusing on preventing falls from height."

The 'Don't Fall For It' advertisements asks 'Which white van will you be leaving in today?' and shows an injured worker who has fallen from height leaving the site in an ambulance. The advertisement will appear on billboards and in national newspapers and trade publications throughout the month of June.

'Don't Fall For It', is a European Union campaign on falls from height in construction. The European Commission's Senior Labour Inspectors' Committee (SLIC) has agreed to undertake this campaign on falls from height risks in the construction industry in 2003, supported by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. The campaign features two inspection initiatives, the first in June and then in September. All member states will be participating in the campaign.

Notes to editors

1. Falls from height remain the single biggest cause of death, disability and injury in construction, accounting for 37 fatalities (which is 47% of all fatalities) and 1425 major injuries (which is 30% of all major injuries) in 2001/2. Across all industries, falls from height accounted for 74 deaths and 5,286 major injuries in 2001/2.

2. In the last five years, from 1997 to 2002, 211 workers have died and 8418 workers have sustained major injuries from falls from height in the construction industry.

3. 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 http://www.hse.gov.uk/revitalising/index.htm

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; and
  
• 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.

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