Construction

Every year there are literally hundreds of reported injuries, even fatalities, from construction workers who have sustained these injuries in the course of their work. Although the industry generally recognises the importance of Health & Safety it is important not to be complacent with the management or provision of safety advice within your company.

We typically work with smaller independent contractors to fully manage their safety requirements but also work alongside the major principal contractors to assist in training or specific elements of safety management on or off site.

Planning

We consider all aspects of a job where Health & Safety is concerned including:

• Preparing for work - ensuring Health & Safety is taken into account in the planning and organising of work.
• Setting up the site - ensuring the key Health & Safety aspects have been taken into consideration.
• Construction phase Health & Safety - making sure safe systems of work are followed for the duration of the job.

We work with our clients to ensure all the hazards and risks within this industry are minimized and that our clients are not risking costly claims or disruptions due to accidents, injuries or ill health of their workers.

Accidents

According to the HSE, the most frequent causes of accidental death and injury are:

Falls:

People fall because access to and from the workplace is not adequate, or the workplace itself is not safe. The importance of providing good access to a safe working position (eg a platform with toe boards and guard rails) cannot be over-emphasised.

Mobile plant:

Construction plant can be heavy. It often operates on ground which is muddy and uneven, and where driver visibility is poor. People walking on site are injured or killed by moving vehicles, especially reversing ones. Others, particularly drivers and operators, are killed or injured by overturning vehicles and plant.

Falling material and collapses:

People are struck by material falling from loads being lifted and material that rolls or is kicked off work platforms; others are struck or buried by falling materials when excavations, buildings or structures collapse. Structural collapses can range from walls, which fall because their foundations are undermined by nearby excavations, to buildings, which collapse during alteration works because the structure was weakened and/or overloaded. Structures can also collapse unexpectedly during demolition if action is not taken to prevent instability. Scaffolds collapse because ties are either forgotten or removed too early during striking, or the scaffold is overloaded. Structures under construction may also collapse, eg steel frames that have not been adequately braced, or formwork that is prematurely loaded.

Electrical accidents:

People suffer electric shock and burns when they use unsafe equipment and when they contact overhead power lines and buried cables.

Trips:

Trips are the most common cause of reported injuries on construction sites, with over 1000 major injuries each year. Most of these can be easily avoided by effective management of access routes such as corridors, stairwells and footpaths.

Ill health

The construction industry has a poor health record. Construction workers are likely to suffer ill health as a result of their work in the industry after exposure to both harsh working conditions and hazardous substances. Ill health can result from:

Asbestos:

Exposure to asbestos can cause serious respiratory diseases such as asbestosis and cancer.

Manual handling:

Lifting heavy and awkward loads causes back and other injuries. Some injuries can result from a single lift, but more commonly, long-term injury develops as a result of repeated minor injury due to repetitive lifting.

Noise and vibration:

High levels of noise can cause hearing loss and repeated use of vibrating tools can cause hand-arm vibration syndrome (damage to nerves and blood vessels – most commonly in the hands and fingers).

Chemicals:

Exposure to materials such as cement and solvents can cause skin problems such as dermatitis.

Accreditations

We work with companies to assist them in securing accreditation such as CHAS, Safe Contractor and ISO standards.

If your company is looking to obtain these standards in order to win new business or opportunities to tender then contact us to arrange a free initial assessment of your current provisions and required actions.