Biggest ever construction blitz by Health & Safety Executive stops work on 332 sites
8 Sep 2003
Work has stopped at almost a quarter of the construction sites visited by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors during the national blitz on falls from height, during the first two weeks of June.
Another five per cent of the sites visited were issued with improvement notices and a number of duty holders are still being considered for possible prosecution. There were also many instances of work being voluntarily stopped until easily solved fall from height risks were reduced.
In a recent press release the HSE state that inspectors visited 1446 construction sites across Great Britain to make sure that, where work at height was taking place or planned, the risk of falling was being properly managed. The statement goes on to say that, falls from height remain the single biggest cause of death, disability, and injury in construction in Great Britain, accounting for 37 deaths and 1344 major injuries of workers in 2001/2. Twelve construction workers have died from fall from height accidents since the beginning of April this year.
Some notable examples of poor practice identified by the HSE inspectors were:
- An entire scaffolding gang were found to be wearing worn, or damaged safety harnesses with no system for harness inspections;
- A refurbishment job where workers were walking across open beams at a height of approximately 6 meters with a fall onto demolition debris below;
- Many examples of inadequate or absence of toe boards and intermediate guard rails on scaffolding or work platforms.
Although the sites that were visited were predominately found to be relying on traditional scaffold, harnesses or mobile towers, there was evidence of increased use of mobile elevated work platforms (MEWPs), nets and airbags. Some problems were however identified with the installation of nets that were not being secured to suitable anchorage points. Another problem area identified by inspectors related to poor compliance with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994 (CDM). In some instances it was found that the contractors and planning supervisors were either not fulfilling, or not aware of their duties.
The HSE preliminary results of the national construction blitz on falls from height were:
| Number of Sites Visited in Great Britain | Prohibition Notices Served | Improvement Notices Served |
| 1446 | 332 | 75 |
The blitz was part of the ‘Don’t Fall For It’ campaign, to reduce falls from height in construction.
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