According to the figures issued by the Health and Safety Executive, the number of workers dying on construction sites has hit its worst level in ten years. A startling rise, over 30% has occurred in just one year; 81 deaths were recorded in 1999/2000.
The industry now has a fatality rate of six deaths per 100 000 workers; the average across all British industries is 1·1 per 100 000 workers. Construction accounts for more than one-third of the 295 fatalities recorded last year, yet only represents around 8% of the total labour force.
Announcing the figures, Health and Safety Commission chairman Bill Callaghan said: "The deputy prime minister and I held a summit [in February] with the industry and stakeholders are now committed to taking positive steps to bring down this unacceptable toll. I very much hope that the action promised will now begin to feed through and drive down casualties. I will be looking closely to see what progress is being made and will be reviewing the situation at the Working Well Together conference in October."
The summit laid out targets for improvement, with John Prescott making it clear that employers could expect tougher legislation unless they achieved a 40% cut in injuries over the next four years, rising to a reduction of two-thirds by 2010.
There are plenty out there who question whether progress is being made. General secretary of construction union UCATT, George Brumwell, said: "The trend is getting worse and will continue to get worse until changes take place. At the moment, there is too much talk at the top level and not enough action on the ground."
Action on the ground will include increased health and safety training for operatives. The electrical industry was first to respond to John Prescott's challenges when the ECA and AEEU jointly launched a new one-day course entitled 'Working safely together in the electrotechnical industry'. Accredited by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, the course covers the identification of hazards, risk assessment and control, safety management systems and legal requirements. The course looks at how to tackle major hazards such as falls from height, manual handling and movement of vehicles.
The ECA is taking this one step further with the introduction of its Zero Accidents Potential (ZAP) initiative. A half-day launch conference in London in October will be supported by a series of regional events in which members will be urged to commit their companies to the reduction of injuries. Contributing companies will receive free guidance notes to enable them to put in place best practice on their sites.
While the onus is undoubtedly on employers to get their act together in respect of their workforce, clients can play their part by paying particular attention to competence in health and safety when selecting contractors. The Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme (CHAS), around since 1997 but launched nationally in June, now makes that task easier.
CHAS is used by public sector clients such as local authorities, housing associations and health trusts. Contractors have to complete a questionnaire covering: safety policy, accident statistics, risk assessments, asbestos, personal protective equipment, health and safety training to name but a few. Contractors with less than five employees are asked to complete a shorter version.
While CHAS is not an approved list of contractors like the Constructionline register, Constructionline is developing plans to form a joint arrangement with the scheme.
Clearly, there is action on the ground but there are many who believe that statistics will not show any dramatic improvement until legislation forces employers to take health and safety issues seriously. Unions have called for a new, tougher Health and Safety Act, the recruitment of more inspectors and a new law against corporate killing. Unless Prescott's targets are met, such laws won't be too far off.
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Construction Deaths 1991-2001
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Electrical and Mechanical Contractor