Construction health and safety showing signs of improvement

HSE Press Release: E097:04 - 9 July 2004

Results from the FaTaL Risks Campaign blitz indicate that health and safety performance in the construction industry is improving.

During the nationwide FaTaL Risks Campaign blitz in June 2004, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors issued a prohibition notice halting poorly controlled construction activities to approximately one in five sites.

The figures show some improvement when compared with the nationwide blitz in September 2003, when inspectors issued prohibition notices to one in four sites visited.

Inspectors contacted 1691 dutyholders of all types of project and visited 1255 site across the country; over 90% of projects visited had less than 50 workers. The inspections, which focused on falls from height, transport and lifting operations resulted in 240 prohibition and 74 improvement notices being served.

Commenting on the initiative, Chief Inspector for Construction Kevin Myers said:

"I am pleased to see evidence of some improvement, however these results continue to cause concern, industry must improve further. Inspectors are still finding failure to meet basic requirements on too many projects. We are analysing these findings, and other intelligence, and will make targeted follow-up interventions and further site visits later this year to selected projects and employers. Inspectors will be looking to see that necessary systems are in place to deal, in a sustainable way, with the underlying causes of these shortcomings."

He went on to add:

"I am, however, pleased to note the widespread awareness of the FaTaL Risks blitz and the take up of our campaign Guidance. This is still available on the HSE website. Inspectors found many examples of good practice gaining a firm foothold. I would like to thank the various industry bodies who supported and promoted the campaign issues."

Falls from height risks, with 184 notices, were the subject of most prohibitions. Poor standards of scaffolding, unguarded roof edges, and risk of internal falls were predominant issues.

Transport operations involving on-site vehicles and plant were subject to 17 prohibitions. The main concern was lack of traffic planning arrangements to manage transport risks. Unsafe vehicles were subject to 11 prohibitions. Very few prohibition notices concerned untrained drivers, perhaps reflecting the recent industry drive to improve training standards.

Lifting operations were prohibited on 9 occasions, primarily due to failure to plan lifting operations, or because plant was unsafe or unsuitable.

Falls from height, transport and lifting operations account for over 70% of all fatal injuries in construction. Almost 300 people have died from these causes in the last 5 years. The ongoing FaTaL Risks Campaign 2004 is part of a EU-wide initiative to address safety in construction. It follows the national construction Falls from Height blitz, which took place over two weeks in September 2003.

Notes to editors

1. Please see HSE press releases E064-04 and E081-04 for background on the FaTaL Risks campaign.

2. A table of the blitz results by region is below

Press enquiries

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