Free Essay About Health And Safety Of Construction Industry In UK

Introduction:

The construction industry is considered as one of the most hazardous workplace environment. With the increasing economic status of UK, it is expected that the construction industry will also be in the move. The Health and Safety of the construction sites is a prime concern of the government of UK. Based on the HSE, there are guidelines that are set for the construction company’s compliance. There are set requirement set by the HSE for the purpose of supervising and controlling the various site activities to ensure that the company abides by the safe systems of work. The guidelines set by the HSE provide an overview in the identification of hazards. Likewise, it outlines the various requirements for the companies for the monitoring and reviewing of the health and safety of construction sites.
The construction industry contributed around £92.4 billion economic output in UK in 2013. It also provided employment to the people contributing around 2.1 million jobs in the third quarter of 2014 (Rhodes, 2014). Today, the construction industry of UK is accelerating along with the economic recovery of UK. The construction sector accounts for about 6% of the economy of UK. As stated by Tim Moore, a senior economist, “The attest survey highlights renewed vitality within the UK construction sector, as output growth picked up further from the soft patch seen at the end of 2014” (BBC News, , 2015). Along with the increasing construction projects in the next coming years, the health and safety of the construction sites will also top as focus area for the HSE and the government.
The nature of works in a construction site made it as a dangerous workplace. The hazards and dangers that are present in the work place are innumerable, causing injury, illness, or even death to site workers. These dangers include the COSHH risks, that comprise the hazardous substances that include chemicals, dust and others. There are also accidents related to injuries due to manual handing, being hit by heavy equipment, and many more. The physical injuries, emotional stress, and illness of construction workders are very costly for the management. The legislation for the health and safety in the construction industries is also increasing with the last three decade. There is great responsibility placed among the supervisors and site managers. In effect, the qualifications set for these positions also increased (NEBOSH, 2013).
The statistics of the accidents incurred in the construction sector of UK has been remarkable. According to the latest data from HSE National Statistics, there is a fatal injury rate of 0.44 deaths for every 100,000 workers. However, there is a lowering of the number of deaths of around 19% for the past five years. There are 150 fatalities among the workers for every 100 000 workers which comprises to 0.51 death rates. These data are summarized in the Table 1 (HSE, 2014).

According to HSE, the most common causes of accidents and injury that may sometime lead to death includes:

>Falls: Falling is caused due to inadequate access into certain places in the site, or can be caused by the unsafe environment of the workplace.
>Mobile Plant: The nature of construction sites using heavy equipment that sometimes operate on uneven and muddy grounds causes accidents to the driver and the people walking nearby.

Works Cited:

BBC News. (2015). UK Construction Industry Grown Strongly in February. BBC News: Business
HSE. (2014). Statistics on Fatal Injuries in the Workplace in Great Britain 2014. HSE.
NEBOSH. (2013). Construction Site Health and Safety. Construction Site Health and Safety.
Rhodes, C. (2014). The Construction Industry: Statistics and Policy. Economic Policy and Statistics. Houe of Commons Library.