Working at height put under safety spotlight to prevent death and injury in the construction industry

Date:

5 September 2012

Release No:

NE/060/12

Construction sites across the North East are being put under the safety spotlight as part of an intensive inspection initiative aimed at reducing death, injury and ill health when working at height.

The targeted campaign is in response to the continued loss of life and serious injury arising from falls from height.

In the last year [up to April 2012], 49 workers lost their lives on construction sites in the UK, with falls from height being the most common cause of fatal injuries.

During September, inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive will be visiting sites across the region.

Although the initiative will primarily be aimed at those working on the external parts of buildings, the initiative will be looking at all work at height. The purpose of the initiative is to remind those working in construction that poor standards are totally unacceptable and could result in enforcement action.

Rob Hirst, HSE's Principal Inspector for Construction in the North East, said:

"Falling from height is the cause of the greatest number of fatalities. All too often straightforward practical precautions are not considered and workers are put unnecessarily at risk. In many cases, simple changes to working practices can make all the difference.

"Poor management of risk in this industry is unacceptable. As we have demonstrated in the past, we will take strong action if we find evidence that workers are being unnecessarily put at risk."

HSE has prosecuted several construction companies recently following incidents in which workers were injured, including:

• A Tyneside firm was fined £1,500 with £1,500 costs after a worker from Gateshead suffered several crushed vertebrae and a fractured left foot when he fell around four metres from unsafe scaffolding at a site in Murton, County Durham. The worker had to have steel rods inserted into his spine and is unlikely to ever be able to return to construction work.
• A Northumberland firm and its two directors were fined a total of £80,000 with costs of £19,000 after a teenage worker died following a fall from a barn roof at Heddon on the Wall.

Further information about safe-working in construction can be found online at www.hse.gov.uk/construction

Notes to editors

1. During the inspection initiative, HSE inspectors will be looking at whether:
   1. Jobs that involve working at height have been identified and properly planned to ensure that appropriate precautions are in place.
   2. Equipment is correctly installed / assembled, inspected and maintained and used properly.
2. Falls from height remains one of the most common causes of fatalities and major injuries in the construction sector in Great Britain, with more than five incidents recorded every day.
3. Further information on falls and trips in the construction industry http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/campaigns/fallstrips/index.htm

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Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by the Regional News Network