Inspectors from the Health & Safety Executive have swooped on sites throughout the country as part of the FaTaL Risks Campaign 2004.
The EU-wide initiative Fatal Risks Campaign 2004 saw inspectors from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) conduct a large-scale blitz of sites nationwide during June in a bid to reduce fatal and serious injuries in the industry.

The visits concentrated on falls arising from working at height; transport on site, including mobile plant and vehicles; and lifting heavy loads with cranes and other machinery. These three categories account for over 70% of all fatal injuries in construction. Almost 300 people have died from these causes in the last five years.

HSE chief inspector for construction Kevin Myers says: “A good deal has been done by the construction industry to control the risks from falls, transport and lifting operations. However, the number of fatal and serious injuries is not declining fast enough.

“All involved, must use the spur of this EU initiative to make further progress to secure effective control and changes to the underlying culture that are needed to advance improvements in construction health and safety. We are now looking to clients, designers, planning supervisors and contractors to take account of these hazards well before work starts on site.”

Guidance is available from the Fatal Risks Campaign helpline on 01582 44248, infonet@ hse.gsi.gov.uk or www.hse.gov.uk/construction.

m The blitz comes as two construction firms, McNicholas and Instalcom, were fined £37 500 at the Old Bailey, following an investigation into an incident in 2001 when a member of the public was killed by a reversing works lorry.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor