Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Statistics
There were 77 fatal injuries to workers in construction in 2006/07, a 28% increase on the previous year. Of these 77 fatalities, 50 were employees and 27 were self-employed, compared to 43 and 17 in 2005/06.
23 deaths (30%) were due to falls from a height and 16 (21%) were due to being hit by a moving or falling object.
In 2006/07, 32% of all worker deaths were in the construction industry. The rate of fatal injury to workers in construction rose to 3.7 per hundred thousand workers, from 3.0 per hundred thousand workers in 2005/06.
Reported major injuries to employees rose slightly in 2006/07 to 3 711, compared to 3 706 in 2005/06 .
The rate of major injury to employees decreased by 4% from 307.8 per 100 000 employees to 295.4. This continues the general downward trend seen since 1998/99, and is the lowest rate since RIDDOR 95 was introduced in 1996.
In 2006/07, the most common kind of accident was a slip or trip 988 (27%). As in previous years, falling from a height accounted for a high number of major injuries, 987 (27%). The next two most common kinds of accident were being hit by moving/falling objects (649) accounting for 17%, and being injured while handling, lifting or carrying (525) accounting for 14% of major injuries.
Based on the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the rate of reportable non-fatal injury in construction was 1600 per 100 000 workers (1.6%) in 2005/06 (three-year average), statistically significantly higher than the average for all industries (1000 per 100 000 workers – 1.0%).
The RIDDOR rate of reported non-fatal (major and over-3-day) injury to employees fell by 8% in the provisional year 2006/07, from 935 to 861 per 100 000, and continuing the downward trend since 1999/2000.
The number of reported over-3-day injuries to employees decreased by 6% in 2006/07, from 7555 to 7108. Injuries involving handling, lifting or carrying accounted for 38% of all over-3-day injuries to employees in construction.. The rate of reported over-3-day injury continued to fall, from 627.6 to 565.9, a decrease of 10%.
The latest survey of self-reported work-related illness (SWI) carried out in 2006/07 estimated that 90 000 people whose current or most recent job in the last year was in construction suffered from an illness which was caused or made worse by this job (See Table WRIIND2). The associated prevalence rate, 3900 per 100 000 people (3.9%) working in the last year, was of a similar order (not statistically significantly different) to that for all industries (3900 per 100 000 people – 3.9%).
Comparing this rate for construction with corresponding rates from earlier SWI surveys indicates that the estimated prevalence rate in 2006/07 was of a similar order (not statistically significantly different) to the rates in 2005/06 (3800 per 100 000 people - 3.8%), 2004/05 (3900 per 100 000 people – 3.9%), 2003/04 (4400 per 100 000 people – 4.4%) and 2001/02 (4500 per 100 000 people – 4.5%).
SWI Table WRIIND4 shows that the estimated incidence rate in 2006/07 for the construction sector of 1400 new cases per 100 000 people (1.4%) working in the last 12 months was statistically significantly lower than the average for all industries (1900 per 100 000 people – 1.9%). However, this rate was of a similar order (not statistically significantly different) to the corresponding rates in 2005/06 (1400 per 100 000 people – 1.4%), 2004/05 (1500 per 100 000 people – 1.5%), 2003/04 (1300 per 100 000 people – 1.3%) and 2001/02 (1800 per 100 000 people – 1.8%).
More detailed prevalence data by type of illness are not yet available from SWI06/07. Earlier SWI surveys conducted in 2005/06, 2004/05, 2003/04 and 2001/02 showed construction prevalence rates for musculoskeletal disorders (See SWI Table MSDIND2) and rates for stress, depression or anxiety (See SWI Table STRIND2) were of a similar order (not statistically significantly different), for people working in the last 12 months. Data from THOR medical surveillance scheme (see Table ILLCON5) shows mesothelioma, vibration white finger and upper limb disorders with well above average incidence rates.
Data from the 2006/07 LFS and SWI surveys indicate that the combined estimate of the number of days lost (full-day equivalent) due to workplace injury and work-related ill health attributed to the current or most recent job in the construction industry was 2.8 million, equating to an average annual loss of an estimated 1.3 days per worker. This was similar (not statistically significantly different) to the rate for all industries (1.3 days per worker) and to the rates in 2005/06 (1.7 days per worker) and 2004/05 (1.5 days per worker), but was statistically significantly lower than the rate in 2003/04 (1.9 days per worker).
Workplace injuries and work-related illness accounted for an estimated 0.9 and 1.8 million working days lost (full-day equivalent) respectively in 2006/07, with corresponding rates of 0.43 and 0.84 days per worker.
The injury rate was of a similar order (not statistically significantly different) to the respective rates of 0.52, 0.40 and 0.50 days per workers in 2005/06, 2004/05 and 2003/04.
The ill health rate was also of a similar order (not statistically significantly different) to those of 1.2 and 1.1 days per worker in 2005/06 and 2004/05 respectively, but was statistically significantly lower than that of 1.4 days per worker in 2003/04 (see Table WDLIND)