Building a case for construction workplace safety

Protecting the health and safety of workers in the UK is achieved primarily through legislation and the activities of the Health and Safety Executive. One sector that consistently attracts HSE attention in that regard is construction.

In February, the HSE Construction Strategic Forum launched a new Respect for People code of practice aimed at the construction industry. In March the HSE began a blitz of the construction industry as part of its Healthy Handling 2005 initiative, focusing on proper use of tools, materials and substances. This month, new Working at Heights Regulations are due to come into force, aimed in significant measure at the construction industry, in which 38 workers died in 2003/2004 as a result of falls from height.

When the incentive of positive initiatives and education fails to coax workplace safety from the industry, the stick of criminal and civil liability is wielded to great effect. In January this year a contracting company was fined £150,000 for breaches of statutory health and safety duties identified following a fall-from-height fatality, whereas, in another such case, a managing director was imprisoned for 16 months for manslaughter.

On the civil liability front, the construction sector accounts for a significant proportion of all serious workplace injuries each year and accounts for a significant proportion of serious, and therefore expensive personal-injury claims.

These are some of the reasons why the construction industry is a force in the insurance market; the industry needs cover, at an affordable price, to defend civil damages claims and criminal and civil defence costs arising out of the health and safety risks of its activities.

The current HSE focus on construction may blow a chill wind across the construction insurance market, with insurers becoming concerned at an increased rate of calls on cover; apart from anything else, the ongoing blitz is likely to yield a number of HSE prosecutions to defend.

It will therefore benefit prospective insureds to distinguish themselves from their competition when renewing their insurance. Knowledge and implementation of the relevant health and safety regulations should be a given.

The icing on the cake would be an awareness of the ongoing HSE initiatives, for which a good place to familiarise yourself is the website at www.hse.gov.uk/construction.