I'm all for cutting red tape, but I'm not sure about allowing externally-audited safety inspections - how can you be sure the inspections will be suitably rigorous?

Tories plan to bar HSE from sites

"New plans drawn up by the Conservatives would allow contractors to arrange their own externally audited safety inspections, and ban Health and Safety Executive inspectors from their sites if they have already passed strict standards.

The measure is part of a package announced by shadow business secretary Ken Clarke in a bid to cut red tape for business.

He said he wanted to "curb the powers of intrusive inspectors by allowing firms to arrange their own, externally audited inspections and, providing they pass, to refuse entry to official inspectors thereafter".

Safety lobbyists and unions have reacted angrily to the proposal, which they claim would prove "disastrous" for the construction sector."  Here-Here!!

Bottom line- This is appalling, ignorant and suicidal and will end up on the scrap-heap along with (hopefully) CSCS, Considerate Destructors and the other money-making pretentious and idiotic concept ‘suggestions' that are being constantly raised by the extremely naïve and the seriously uninformed.

Let the builders get on with building and stop this crap once and for all.

Q - WTF does Clarke know about construction safety??  

Allowing contrators and sites to ban HSE inspectors will be a dangerous move for all those people that work in this highly hazardous environment. There is a very real issue of hired in inspectors not only being up to the task; but also treating certain client's to a less stringent examination in order to obtain a repeat order the following year. This would also give companies the right to specify when an inspection was carried out, giving them the time to get things in order before the visit.More importantly if a hired-in inspector did find an issue that warranted a enforcement or prohibition notice; how would they be able to enforce it, they would not have the authority of the HSE to close a site down until it was made safe!

Maybe I'm being daft, but I wonder what political party most construction company owners and director's support? It does look as though the HSE are trying very hard to lower all injuries on sites and other work places, but this proposal coming shortly after the HSE advert on the number of asbestos deaths being banned by someone that has probably never had a friend or family member die of this cursed disease! Are these so called informed people really trying to improve health and safety or not, or are they just trying to improve there friends and supporters bank balance's? We should let the HSE do what they do best and everyone will know where they stand, with just one standard to adhere to for the good of all at work, not just the director or owner.           

On the contrary Triumph (Welcome to the forum) three years ago, I did close down a site in Kent, the work was so rushed, they had installed the third floor PC slabs hours after completing the block work and installing the pad stones and steels. Precarious was not the word!

I immediately went into the site office and insisted that all men leave site, which they did and I locked the gates behind them.

Ok, so it didn't fall down but, it might well have done. In all of my years as a site manager (now a site inspector) I would never have allowed such a serious lack of regard towards safety take place, programme or no programme, people come first - even before money.

You are in no way "being daft" as you quite rightly advise, the H&SE are there for a reason - to protect us all from becoming a victim of profit, greed and stupidity, by doing what they undeniably do best.

Put it this way, any ‘shiny suit' that backs that onerous and ridiculous proposal needs to get out of the business PDQ, because he surely will end up killing someone.

Another very good reason for not voting Tory...let's hear them ‘spin' themselves out of that one!

Regards

MVM

Yes, welcome to the forum Triumph.

I think there are some things that shouldn't be 'left to the free market', which is the Tory doctrine, and health and safety is one of them.

The HSE are much-maligned, but a role as important as theirs needs to be transparent and accountable.

I think this is a very bad idea.

We have worked on some very high profile sites with 'supposedly' top rank principal contractors but safety goes out of the window if there is a chance practical completion will be missed.

I would most certainly agree with your comments allanp, the problem as I am seeing it today is monetary greed, nothing else.

The H&SE, as mentioned below, is a trusted organisation and carries "Enforcement and Prohibition powers".

"Shadow business secretary Ken Clarke's announcement to cut ‘red tape' for business will "curb the powers of intrusive inspectors by allowing firms to arrange their own, externally audited inspections and, providing they pass, to refuse entry to official inspectors thereafter".

Unite, which represents construction workers, warns the move could mean the already unacceptable death rates in the sector would increase if firms did not have to be accountable to the independent Health and Safety Executive. Unite is concerned that externally audited inspections will not have proper ‘enforcement powers'.

"Commenting on the announcement Unite national officer for construction, Bob Blackman, said: "Ensuring high standards of health and safety on construction sites comes with a cost. The Tories should be focusing on preventing accidents and deaths rather than looking at ways of saving money for the employers."

"The HSE is not perfect, but at least it is trusted by the workforce and carries 'enforcement powers'. Enforcement and prohibition powers are vital if the industry is not to see fatalities and serious accidents increasing".

This announcement goes to show the Tories true colours. They are the party of the bosses and by cutting 'red tape' for employers they will be putting the lives and health of construction workers at risk.

People power is the answer - say no, if it ain't broken - don't mend it!   

Regards

MVM

Now here's a message that makes sense (to me at least) - Brian Berry, Director of External Affairs at the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) said on 22^nd October 2009:

"There is no single solution to improving health and safety on construction sites but there are a number of steps that can be taken. To reduce red tape we need to stop seeing regulation as the automatic solution. We have over 17 pieces of health and safety legislation in construction and if legislation was the solution we wouldn't still have a problem. We also need to continue the current work on rationalising qualification in construction which has become immeasurably bureaucratic. We also need to target the use of limited HSE resources by providing help and advice to smaller construction firms doing their best to keep sites safe, and by targeting inspection and enforcement at the rogues who knowingly put lives at risk. While we would not favour banning HSE inspectors from any site we would suggest that the ones which are independently and reputably audited are not necessarily the ones that the handful of HSE construction inspectors should be looking at."

I wrote an article in ‘Building' several years back suggesting that ‘independent site inspections' would most certainly assist the site teams to prepare for a H&SE visit and to also help those smaller organisations in recognising the do's and, most certainly the don'ts in site safety, visiting the site once a week is cheap but hugely effective.

A ‘fresh pair of experienced eyes' overseeing / looking at the project on a weekly visit basis, recognising any potential problems that are being walked past and subsequently missed due to possibly the site teams work-load is well worth the expense of an independant inspection along with a photographic and written 'observation tracking report' that could be updated as and when any issues were / are discovered?

Regards

MVM

The Health and Safety Executive inspectors are so sparsly spread around the Country compared to the amount of construction work taking place, surely there should be investment by the Tories and not a ban on site visits.

Regards

HSM

http://www.healthandsafetymentor.com/construction-safety-services

The EU wont let them do that. Any future government has no mandate as all the power has been taken over by the ratification of the EU Treaty.