Even in a world where COVID-19 has made us all grimly accustomed to daily mortality figures, the statistics on deaths in the construction industry are still sobering. Despite making great strides to improve its safety culture in recent years, construction remains the industry with the highest number of workplace deaths in the UK. According to recent Health and Safety Executive data, construction accounted for 40 of the 111 people who lost their lives at work in 2019/20 - making it twice as deadly as the next worst sector: agriculture, forestry and fishing. Across all industries, falls from height were the most frequent cause of fatal accidents, leading to 29 worker deaths in the most recently recorded annual period. Working at height poses a far more lethal risk than moving vehicles or other workplace hazards such as industrial machinery. But while the number of construction deaths may pale next to the coronavirus casualty total, nobody in their right mind should look at the tally, shrug their shoulders and move on. Thankfully, construction safety has improved considerably since annual fatalities peaked at 154 in 1988/89s,but it doesn't mean the industry shouldn't continually re-examine its approach to find better ways of working.
展开▼
