Health & Safety
Within the construction industry, there are many potential risks and hazards that we may encounter. Staying safe during working procedures, as well as ensuring the health and safety of those around us is always the most important consideration of any operation that we might undertake.
At the time of research for this publication, the figure for work-related fatalities within the construction industry in the UK was 30 deaths: from March 2021-22. Unfortunately, these were avoidable casualties. For the overwhelming majority, the cause and subsequent outcome of these accidents was due to negligence in the face of health and safety regulations. With as many extensive mandates and legislations as we have in place for all fields of work in the UK, it is shocking that 29 fatalities occurred last year due to falls from height, as well as 14 fatalities occurring due to operatives being trapped by an object having collapsed or overturned¹.
There can be an observable negative stigma surrounding the topic of health and safety, primarily due to the construction industry being male dominated, with macho behaviour typically leading the way. What’s more, we operate in a time now where older operatives that are coming to the end of long careers in the trades grew up and carried out apprenticeships in a time when proper health and safety legislations were in place. With the relatively recent introduction of mandated PPE and the legislations that require the use of them, some of these operatives would have spent at least half of their career working outside of the current regulations.
For example, an operative that retires at the age of 68 in the year 2022, having begun an apprenticeship at 16, would have spent 52 years in the trades, beginning in 1970. Whilst the quality of the training would have been fantastic, 1970 is 4 years before the introduction of the Health and Safety at Work Act, 35 years before the introduction of the Work at Height Regulations, and 29 years before the full ban on asbestos officially came into force in the UK. Through the natural decline in numbers of operatives of this age group, the proportion of workers that are familiar with and have worked fully within the current regulations is increasing – a step in the right direction to reduce health and safety related incidents. However, even with the current regulations in place, its possible for those coming into the trade to be taught by those that are just about to leave, passing on the “we never used to bother with all that” attitude.
Smaller companies and building gangs that carry out renovations, extensions, and general building works, whilst still legally accountable in relation to all current health and safety legislation, are not supervised by HSE to the same level that large scale building sites and companies are. I spent the first 7 years of my career working for a small 5-man firm, carrying out extensions, renovations etc. During this time, though we worked safely in accordance with the relevant regulations, not once did any governing body perform an inspection to ensure that we were. It is not practical or feasible for every small company to be inspected by HSE – the point is that there are people/firms out there that are operating outside of the established safe working practices.
The issue at hand relevant to what has just been mentioned is the lack of understanding by newcomers in relation to health and safety. In a small scale, more relaxed environment, it is the responsibility of the employer to make aware the employee of all relevant health and safety topics. This includes identifying and explaining potential hazards, producing all relevant documentation, and providing PPE necessary to the tasks at hand. Without the scrupulous monitoring of every single company by HSE, its possible that young people and newcomers to the trade are being unknowingly exposed to hazards and unsafe working environments, through no fault of their own.
Health, safety, and welfare on site and at work is a crucial topic to understand and be able to implement, to ensure the safety of ourselves and our work mates around us. In addition to this there are many other forgotten considerations, such as the safety of the public around us as we work, as well as other professions such as postmasters or delivery drivers that come onto or within proximity of our sites. In this chapter we will dive into every aspect of health and safety as it pertains to the construction industry, looking in depth at all the specific risks and hazards, and how they can each be avoided.
¹ HSE “Workplace fatal injuries in Great Britain, 2022” Publication.