Construction CEOs pledge to cut ill health

 Whilst the construction industry has made great improvements in safety over the last number of years it still remains a high risk industry and accounts for a high percentage of fatal and major injuries.

It is also a high risk industry for health issues and every year more working days are lost due to work-related illness compared to injuries. Statistics released by the HSE reveal that construction workers have a high risk of developing diseases from a number of health issues, including:

More than 100 construction chief executives, including heads of major clients and contractors have committed their organisations to improving occupational health provision at a Construction Health Summit held in London.

The summit was addressed by the minister with responsibility for health and safety Justin Tomlinson, who told the construction leaders that “health should be a given in the same way that safety is a given”.

The results of the HSE’s recent inspection campaign targeting health management on construction sites, observed that of the 560 sites visited, conditions at 108 prompted improvement notices.

After the meeting, the business leaders were each asked to complete a pledge card committing their organisation to improved health management and to nominate a senior manager who will be responsible for ensuring the initiative is carried through.

This will have an impact on smaller contractors as it is inevitable that larger clients and contractors will be targeting the management of health risks more than perhaps they have done in the past. They will be looking for all of their contractors to be making more effort to manage health risks.

Health risks include:

  • Cancer – Construction accounts for over 40% of occupational cancer deaths and cancer registrations – the largest of any sector. The most significant cause of these cancers is asbestos (70%) followed by Silica (17%)
  • Hazardous Substancesdusts, chemicals and potentially harmful mixtures such as in paints are common in construction work
  • Physical Health Risks – such as back injuries and upper limb disorders. Manual handling is the most commonly reported cause of over 7 day injuries in the industry

Contact the FMB for further information and help on how you can manage health risks.

Charitable trust and contractor fined for asbestos safety failings

A charitable trust and a contractor it employed has been fined for safety failings after disturbing asbestos and continuing to work in a building.

The contractor commenced work in a school building knowing the trust had an asbestos register however the contractor did not consult the register. The contractor was fined £9,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,000.

The trust who employed the contractor were fined £18,000 with a further £17,000 costs for failing to complete a refurbishment and demolition survey, and for failing to ensure that the contractors had the asbestos information they needed to carry out the work safely.