Health & Safety Executive inspections find one in five sites fail safety checks.
In a month long initiative HSE inspectors visited 2,363 sites and nearly one in five were subject to enforcement action after failing safety checks. 631 enforcement notices were served, with 451 ordering work to stop immediately until the situation was put right.
The HSE stated that significant factors were lack of stairwell edge protection and inadequate working platforms
Said Philip White, HSE’s Chief Inspector of Construction:
“This initiative has once again shown us that the majority of construction employers do take their responsibilities to their workers seriously”.
“However, our inspectors also encountered numerous examples of poor practice, from lack of edge protection on stairwells and scaffolding to unsafe storage of flammable materials and inadequate personal protective equipment. None of these are acceptable on a modern construction site”.
“HSE will not hesitate to use its enforcement powers against reckless employers. It is they who continue to make construction one of the most dangerous industries in which to work.”
Safety Platforms have been supplying products to the construction industry which allow poor site practice to be addressed in a safe, simple and cost effective manner. Whilst we acknowledge many contractors do take safety extremely seriously we also believe contractors need to be constantly alert to ensuring equipment is used correctly, have sufficient quantities available and are open to improved methods of working.
These products include Stairwell Edge Protection, Stairsafe stairwell platform and Easy Stair temporary staircase which has been shortlisted to the final of the “Best Site Product in the 2013 Housebuilder Awards”
To view how these products can improve safety simply visit www.safetyplatforms.co.uk website for further information.