Commissioner launches 2005 Construction Health And Safety Roadshow

HSC press release C023:05 - 5 September 2005

Health and Safety Commissioner, Danny Carrigan, today launched the construction industry's Working Well Together (WWT), 2005, health and safety roadshow at a Persimmon Homes site in Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland.

Continuing the success of previous roadshows, this year's five-week nation-wide tour will visit large and small construction sites, highlighting the areas of greatest risk to workers health and safety on site. It also promotes cultural change - encouraging everyone to work together to bring about improvements. The tour promotes best practice and encourages everyone in the industry to take action to improve the construction industry's health and safety performance.

Speaking from the launch, HSC Commissioner, Danny Carrigan said:

"The Working Well Together Roadshow aims to prevent injuries and ill health by delivering vital information and advice to construction workers on site and I am delighted to see so many companies continuing to make vital contributions to improving this industry's health and safety performance.

"Construction is a dangerous place to work, last reporting year 72 construction workers died, 12 of those deaths occurred in Scotland. Although this was the lowest national level seen on record, each death is still one too many, especially when most could have been prevented with sensible risk control.

"Construction is a killer industry, we must get these messages across to those who work in it".

At the launch, Health and Safety Executive inspector, Jim Skilling, responsible for health and safety on Scottish construction sites, joined Mr Carrigain. Speaking from the site Mr Skilling said:

"This site shows how much can be achieved by an enlightened client and a principal contractor with a positive attitude to health and safety and worker engagement, an important theme for this year's roadshow. The best clients, contractors and professionals in the industry are demonstrating that where worker engagement is adopted on sites, the incident rate for accidents, ill health and near misses falls dramatically".

This year the roadshow features interactive demonstrations highlighting the importance of safe lifting techniques, transport-viewing aids, safety harnesses and gives workers an opportunity to test their hearing levels.

Sponsored by HSS Hire, with additional sponsorship from Berkeley Homes, Bovis Lend Lease, Gleeson, Persimmon Group and Taylor Woodrow, the Roadshow is also supported by Federation of Master Builders (FMB), Scafftag, Constructing Excellence, Trades Union Congress (TUC), and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Note to editors

1. Working Well Together (WWT) is the country's leading construction health and safety campaign, supported by the construction industry, trade unions and the Health and Safety Executive. For further information check out the WWT Campaign website at wwt.uk.com. To join WWT call 0845 27 27 500.
   
   The WWT roadshow consists of a large walk through trailer (visiting large sites) and a white transit van (visiting small sites). Both the roadshow and white van will visit large and small sites across England, Scotland and Wales. Since the summer of 1999, more than 25,000 workers have visited the tour. This years tour aims to reach at least 7000 workers and site managers.

2. The WWT roadshow tour dates are: -

   05 - 9 September - Scotland & Northern England
   12- 16 September - Scotland & Northern England
   26 - 30 September - SE England
   10 -14 October - Wales, Midlands, SW England
   17 - 21 October - Wales, Midlands, SW England

3. After falling from height the most common kinds of fatal injury are being struck by a moving/falling object, being struck by a moving vehicle and contact with electricity.
4. In 2004/5, 72 workers died and thousands more sustained major injuries whilst working in the construction industry.
5. Daniel Carrigan has worked in public services, shipbuilding, construction and oil rigs. He has over twenty three years experience of representing employees through his union service for Amicus and its predecessors as a Regional Officer, National Officer, and Regional Secretary. He has extensive experience of working on HSE advisory committees and on government advisory bodies. His strong experience in negotiation and representation of employees' health and safety issues enables him to make a strong contribution representing public interest concerns on the Commission. He holds one other current public appointment, serving since 2003 as a member of the Young Peoples' Committee on the Learning and Skills Council. His Commissioner appointment commenced on 1 October 2004.
6. The Construction Health and Safety Summit 2005 was one part of the process to ensure that the construction industry takes the action it needs to in order to meet its Revitalising targets in 2009/10. The Summit aimed to provide an opportunity for the construction industry to review its progress on the commitments given in 2001 and commit to further action. At the 2001 Summit the industry set the following targets for improvement:
   • Reduce the incidence rate of fatalities and major injuries by 40% by 2004/5 and 66% by 2009/10;
   • Reduce the incidence rate of cases of work-related ill health by 20% by 2004/5 and 50% by 2009/10:
   • Reduce the number of working days lost per 100,000 workers from work-related injury and ill health by 20% by 2004/5 and by 50% by 2009/10.

Press enquiries

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