Safety at work

The construction industry was responsible for one-third of all UK workplace deaths in 2001/02. Over the same period it had the third highest prevalence of self-reported illness.

These latest statistics, revealed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in December, show a 25% reduction in construction industry fatalities from the previous year, down to 79. But is the industry really getting safer?

The rate of fatalities was falling consistently through the 1990s, but rose sharply in 2000/01. The figures show that, despite the fall in deaths last year, the rate remains higher than it would have been if the earlier trend had continued.

What does this mean for the Revitalising health and safety targets set in 2000? Bill Callaghan, chair of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) comments: "It is too early to realistically assess how far we've come but I'm convinced through talking to industry stakeholders that our programme is having an impact." But he cautions: "We're only going to meet the targets if we work with others. We want to see this downward trend continue."

While fatalities will always grab the headlines, occupational health is a key area for improvement. Stress and musculoskeletal disorders (msds) account for two-thirds of all days taken off work in the UK due to self-reported illness and these areas are being targeted as priorities.

There has been a decline in msds, but reports of stress have doubled over the last decade. Callaghan confirms: "The real problem is that 13·5 million days are lost [through stress-related illness]. The key to reversing the upward trend is to avoid stress in the first place." A guidance book was published in 2002 and the HSE is aiming to pilot the first of three management standards in 2003 and have a full set in place by 2004.

Justin McCracken, deputy director general of the HSE recognises the need for change: "The new strategy covers three main areas: inluencing, education and enforcement. The mission remains the same: we can't do it alone, we need everyone involved."

Climbing to safety
So what is the industry doing to tackle health and safety?
The ECA, in conjunction with the HSE, Amicus-AEEU and the Union of Construction Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT), has launched a pilot project targeted at the biggest problem: falls from height.

Falls remain the largest killer in construction, causing 37 deaths in 2001/02. They were also the primary cause of major injuries. The HSE has identified electrical and maintenance fitters as at significant risk of death or injury from falls, with the most common factor in both groups being ladders.

The Ladder Safety Initiative pilot project is an attempt to lower these risks. It provides information about ladder safety via toolbox talks and an 'angle-aid' handout card that advises operatives how to check a ladder's condition and position it correctly. It also draws attention to the suitability of ladder use for jobs and surrounding work environments and gives general safety advice. Examples of actual avoidable accidents are included to help operatives relate the issues to their own working practices.

The initiative complements the ECA's Zero Accident Potential (ZAP) programme, which was introduced to help the sector contribute to targets under the Revitalising health and safety initiative; it also identified working at height as a key safety issue.

Paul Reeve, ECA health and safety advisor says: "The biggest risk facing maintenance electricians is not working with electricity, because reputable electricians have high levels of electrical competence. The biggest risk, by a considerable margin, is falls from height."

If the pilot scheme is successful, the HSE proposes to widen its application to other trade organisations.

Aside from joining such industry schemes, how are contractors contributing to risk reduction? All major m&e contractors now have comprehensive health and safety policies in place. These differ between firms but a common theme reflects the opinion of the HSE, that everyone must get involved.

British Airports Authority (BAA) has reduced the number of reportable accidents on its construction sites to under one-tenth of the industry average and is aiming at a rate of one reportable incident per one million working hours by 2004.

This 'One in a Million' campaign arose from research across industry into new methods of safety management, which showed the need for ongoing initiatives aimed at continuous improvement. In 1995 it signed framework agreements with its key suppliers and the campaign was launched in 1999 with its own board of management.

Hills Electrical and Mechanical is one of BAA's long-term framework contractors. It has adopted the initiative and carried its premise through the entire firm. Its health and safety structure encompasses all personnel and at the core of the structure is risk evaluation and reduction.

Hills uses its safety record as one of its key performance indicators, but, as md David Hill explains: "The days of health and safety on its own are fast diminishing. Health and safety and employment law are overlapping and there is a raft of new family-friendly initiatives that must be considered."

The firm is also tackling the hot topic of stress and is currently amending its health and safety policies accordingly.

An unusual step towards improving training was the launch in December 2002 of the Battle (building a total training and learning experience) Bus. The bus acts as a mobile training centre: the upper deck is fitted with audio-visual equipment, enabling onsite training where and when it is needed. "The Battle Bus fits perfectly with our drive to reduce accident rates to the one in a million target," confirms Hills' quality and safety manager Phil Yates: "Some of our sites are already there and the goal now is to ensure that every site and regional centre achieves these levels consistently." The first training session on the bus is scheduled for mid-January.

Emcor Drake & Scull also follows the team approach. Safety manager Paul Westie states: "Each individual has a part to play in the company's continual improvement programme."

Ray George, senior health, safety and environmental adviser at Emcor Facilities Services confirms: "Ensuring that our workforce is competent in the skills necessary for the task, having then made them aware of the hazards and trained them in both generic and specific risk assessment, we have found that our accident frequency rates have improved year on year."

Like Hills, Emcor is a firm advocate of risk assessment and management. George elaborates: "The trick is to be aware of all the potential risks, then put in place measures to control them.

  "We accept that accidents occur through people being exposed to a hazard, and that those potential accidents could be avoided, or at least reduced, by hazard awareness at the planning stage. We are then taking a major step towards accident prevention."

Haden Young's health and safety policy now inorporates environmental issues and in December it achieved ISO 14 001 for the entire firm. Stress is the next issue to be considered for its policy and a draft strategy is currently being considered. This hinges around procedures to identify the problems. "We're looking at improving work-life balance," explains health, safety and environmental manager Kevin Callaghan, "in terms of awareness raising, holiday policies and flexible working policies. We were looking at this already but the HSE figures have given us an impetus to put it into place."

In 2002 the firm concentrated on involving the workforce in safety initatives, targeting individual attitudes and behaviour. Staff have been invited to appoint regional workforce safety representatives, with the intention of getting operatives involved in inspecting sites. "The main point is workforce involvement and ownership," explains Kevin Callaghan.

One method the firm found sucessful in getting operatives to consider health and safety was by running a competition. 'Step back and take two' encouraged staff to stop and think of potential risks for two minutes before starting a task. "We kept it simple," explains Callaghan, "and asked staff to complete a word search framed around risk assessment terminology. The idea was to get them thinking about risk."

Skanska also favours this on-site approach. "As a company we're committed to the Main Contractors Group's health and safety strategy, but we also use on-site initiatives to maintain the prevalence of health and safety," explains Andy Geldard.

The initatives vary between sites, with individual project management teams developing relevant schemes. Recent ideas have included safety quizzes and the Target Zero initiative on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link project in East London, where a donation will be made to a local charity if set numbers of working hours pass without a reportable incident. If saving lives were not incentive enough, another potential benefit of reducing health and safety risks is coming to the fore. Geldard notes: "In pre-qualification documents, questions [about a firm's health and safety record] are cropping up. These are issues that help clients determine who they will work with."