Construction deaths set to fall in ten months from April 2008
08:48 08 Apr 2009
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The number of fatal accidents in construction over the past year looks set to fall steeply compared to 2007/08.
Research by CJ into the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) preliminary figures shows that there were 40 construction deaths for the 10 months from April 2008.
Although preliminary figures for February and March 2009 are not yet available, the number of fatalities in the past year looks likely to be below the 72 recorded in 2007/08. That figure in itself was lower than the 77 fatalities in 2006/07 - a five-year high.
One health and safety expert said: "In a way, a drop in the number of fatalities would not be surprising because there has been far less work going on on sites across the country, particularly from the end of 2008 onwards. There is also much less of a rush to get projects finished."
The HSE is set to present official, ratified numbers for the past year in July. The ratified figures could result in the total being revised up or down, depending on how incidents are classified. The HSE declined to comment on the figures until those ratified figures are released.
The projected fall in deaths follows a year of intensive campaigning by the HSE. Its Shattered Lives programme has attempted to raise awareness of slips, trips and falls in construction, after figures for 2007/08 showed that falls from height accounted for 50% of fatal accidents in the year.
Meanwhile, its Property Developers Campaign has attempted to educate small-scale property developers of their health and safety responsibilities as clients under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.
A spokesman for the HSE added that the construction division started its latest inspection initiative in March this year, targeting 1,500 sites in the refurbishment sector.
- The Health and Safety Executive will hire up to 30 extra construction inspectors on a two-year fixed contract in the summer. The recruitment drive marks a steep increase from the current level of 138 full-time inspectors in the sector.