Keeping up to date with regulation changes within the industry can be a time-consuming matter, but it is one that you will thank yourself for later as there are a number of health and safety challenges in the construction industry. It is vital for construction companies to keep informed of all regulations to ensure that the workforce is protected at all times and the risk of accidents is reduced.
What are the Health and Safety Challenges in the Construction Industry?
According to the Health and Safety Executives (HSE)**, a total of 142 workers suffered a fatality in 2020/21, which was an increase of 29 from the previous year. The key areas of concern on construction sites are:
- Working from a great height
- Falls, trips and slips
- Moving equipment
- Noise
- Vibrations
- Manual handling
- Collapses
- Asbestos
- Electricity
- Airborne dust
All matters of injuries and fatalities can be prevented through careful planning, a cooperative team of employees and an understanding of the latest regulations and risks involved.
With safety reforms and the regulations continually changing, companies must allow for an adjustment period whilst the employees settle into the new ways of doing certain tasks.
An HSE inspector explained after recent care, “those in control of the work have a responsibility to devise safe methods of working, which should include ensuring the use of suitable work equipment and adequate supervision. Incidents can easily be prevented with simple precautions including properly planning the work, undertaking a suitable risk assessment and by selecting and using suitable equipment.”
Here at PIER (UK), we have a Health and Safety Manager who is dedicated to ensuring our team are protected both in-house and when out working with our customers to tend to their excavation requirements.
Our operators have a range of certifications to ensure best practices when out on site. These are actively monitored by our Health and Safety Manager to ensure the certifications are kept up to date for any proactive refresher training courses and new techniques that can be used.
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