Health and safety in construction: what you really need to know

15:50 19 Apr 2007
By Emma Penny

Health and safety is a top priority in construction. The industry has suffered from a poor accident record in the past, but is working hard to improve health and safety. Work across the industry has focused on reducing accident and incident rates, and making construction a safer industry to work in, with fewer deaths.

Health and safety statistics

Latest results from the Health and Safety Commission for 2005/06 show that:

The rate of reported fatal injuries (to all workers, including the self employed) in construction between 1999/00 and 2005/06 has fallen by about 36%;
The rate of reported major injuries to employees in construction between 1999/00 and 2005/06 has fallen by about 22%;
The rate of reported over three day injuries to employees in construction between 1999/00 and 2005/06 has reduced by about 31%.

But there is plenty of work still to be done, as the Health and Safety Executive believes that injury rates are too high. The Health and Safety Statistics 2005/06 report also shows there were:

981 major injuries in construction caused by slips, trips or falls on the same level;
917 major injuries in construction caused by falls from height;
577 major injuries in construction while handling, lifting or carrying;
572 major injuries in construction caused by struck by moving, including flying/falling object.

For the first time, the proportion of major injuries due to falls from height has been overtaken by those resulting from slips, trips and falls on the same level. Injuries due to slips and trips and manual handling have risen steadily over the past few years while those from falls from height and struck by object have been reduced substantially.

Latest accident and incident statistics from the HSE can be found here:
Construction fatalities and incidents and the progress being made - 1981 to 2006

How health and safety is being tackled

The Major Contractor's Group, which includes the UK's biggest construction companies, is taking a lead in trying to improve health and safety in the industry. Its members are responsible for carrying out more than £20bn of construction work each year, and it has a detailed health and safety policy. It has also seen accident rates fall by a third across its members' sites in the last five years.

The construction industry's clients are also trying to help improve accident statistics, and all of them will be forced to do so through the new Construction (Design and Management) legislation, which came into force on 6 April 2007. Besides this, some industry clients are making health and safety a key part of their requirements, including the 2012 London Olympics, which aims to be a exemplar project.

Key HSE contacts for the construction industry may also be useful.

Useful links - general construction information

The Health and Safety Commission's Construction Group

The Health and Safety Executive's construction pages

CITB ConstructionSkills health and safety training information

The Working Well Together campaign

Institution of Occupational Safety and Health - construction information

First aid at work - what you need to know

Involving workers in health and safety

Constructing Better Health

Useful links - specific construction topics from the HSE

Work at Height Regulations