Fatality numbers fall but does that show the real picture?

HSE figures for fatal accidents show a fall this year to 148 from 172 the previous year so should we all congratulate ourselves on a job well done and a safer construction industry?

The answer is NO.

What the HSE figures do not show is that in the UK we killed 5 members of the public, many more people suffered life changing injuries, and the figures do not reflect the 12,000 people who died from occupational diseases such as Mesothelioma.

The Construction industry, where demolition industry figures lie, saw 39 fatalities (a rate of 1.9 deaths per 100,000 workers) and is a decrease from 48 deaths in 2011/12 so we are moving in the right direction as opposed to the waste industry which saw a 100% increase in fatalities last year.

Back in 2009/10 the fatality figures dropped to 147 and then increased dramatically the following year to 175 so we all need to work to ensure that this year's drop is a permanent trend and we must strive for zero accidents from now.

Is zero accidents realistic in today's climate? Is zero accidents achievable? The answer to both questions is YES, but we will only achieve our goal if we all up our game with training and supervision.

So what are the biggest killers:-

1. Occupational diseases caused from exposure to chemicals and substances that are hazardous to health. Too many people breath in hazardous substances that kill them but we are amazed how few companies understand that wearing of masks will prevent exposure and will save lives. The COSHH regulations make it mandatory for risk assessments to be done for all substances and rpe issued if the risk assessments show the need. That rpe must be suitable for task and correctly face fitted and face fitting should be done by a competent trained person. Details of mask requirements are covered in our free to download toolbox talk
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2. Work at height is still the second biggest killer and from our experience one of the reasons is the lack of training in the workplace, hemce our releasing the new 1, 2, 3 suite of work at height courses.
3. Being struck by falling objects. Make sure that exclusion zones are in place and rigidly enforced.
4. Being struck by moving vehicles. This is particularly pertinent in London where a number of RTA's have resulted in the death of a cyclist. As a direct result of these accidents we have launched a Driver CPC course on Safe Urban Driving.