Health, Safety and Welfare in the Scottish Construction Industry
Around 200,000 people work in Scotland's construction industry, making it the country's biggest employer. It is also one of the most dangerous. In 2006/07 there were 77 fatal injuries to UK construction workers, of which 10 (13%) were in Scotland. Major accidents to workers in the same year were 4426 and 500 (11%) respectively. Scotland's construction workforce is approximately 10% of the UK figure. Therefore, this would indicate that fatal and major accidents in Scotland are higher than expected compared to the rest of the UK. However, research shows that Scotland's workforce is made up of more manual workers when compared to England (HSE RR443). This research also found that manual workers are 25 times more likely to have a fatal accident than non-manual office workers. Therefore, this highlights the higher risk that manual workers face which should always be at the forefront of any organisation involved in construction work. Regardless of country, the most common types of fatal accidents in construction are: falls from height; being hit by a falling or moving object; being struck by a moving vehicle; and being trapped by something collapsing or overturning.
In terms of ill health, average incidence rates for mesothelioma, vibration white finger, hearing loss and upper limb disorders in construction are well above the all-industry average. Sector specific data for Scotland is not available at present. However, it is safe to assume that levels of ill health are much the same in Scotland's construction industry as the rest of UK since the all-industry prevalence rate between the two is not statistically different.
WHY IS MANAGING HS&W IMPORTANT?
It is often said that there are moral, legal and financial reasons for managing HS&W. Adequate protection of an individual's health, safety and welfare is an important feature of any civilised society. Employers have a duty of care towards everyone affected by their work. This includes employees, contractors, visitors and members of the public. This duty of care is not only a moral imperative but is also a legal one under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Contravening this Act and the various daughter Regulations constitutes a criminal offence. Penalties include prohibition or improvement notices that can disrupt work; large fines; or, in the worst cases, imprisonment. Civil court cases may also arise through any negligence. In all cases there will be financial consequences. In some cases insurance policies will cover some of the immediate costs of an accident or ill health. However, the uninsured costs include: damage or loss of equipment; loss of production; accident investigation costs; lost work or employees through bad publicity; as well as the obvious fines and legal fees.
A recent development, in legal terms, is the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. This Act comes into force in April 2008 and will create an offence under Scots Law known as corporate homicide. It is expected that the new Act will make it easier to convict companies and other large organisations where serious management failures result in death. Fines are expected to be between 2.5 and 10% of annual turnover, which would greatly exceed current fines. The actions (or omissions) of directors and senior managers will be the main focus of attention under such circumstances. However, individuals cannot be sentenced under the Act. But any investigation could uncover failings of Directors under Section 37 of The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 which does carry criminal liability for individuals.
Conversely, investment in the management of HS&W can dramatically reduce accidents and incidence of ill health which ultimately makes good business sense. Recent research has shown that investing in suitably competent and experienced H&S personnel is good for business IOSH. Occupational health is another area where investment can reap rewards for the business as well as workers. However, this has been traditionally an underinvested area for the construction industry. Good advice on occupational health matters for construction is available on HSE' website: Managing occupational health risks in construction
Other sources of good practice in construction HS&W include:
WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE?
The School of the Built and Natural Environment of Glasgow Caledonian University (a Scottish Construction Centre partner) have a Centre dedicated to Research and Information on Construction Safety (RISC) http://www.gcal.ac.uk/risc. The RISC Centre is a leading authority for occupational health and safety (OHS) research in the construction industry. The Centre's staff possess extensive OHS expertise and practical industrial experience. These staff are also part of the SCC consortium and thus share this expertise with SCC. . This enables the Centre to undertake industry-relevant and academically robust research work in OHS as it relates to the built environment's product and processes.
Research and good practice reports conducted by the RISC centre includes:
Project Title: What makes Superior Health & Safety Performance?
Sponsor: Institution for Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH)
Year: 2007
Project Title: Improving Consultation and Worker Engagement in the Construction Industry
Sponsor: Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
Year: 2006
Project Title: Factors in Scottish Construction Accidents (FISCA)
Sponsor: Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
Year: 2005
Project Title: Integrated Gateways: planning out health and safety risk
Sponsor: Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
Year: 2004
Project Title: A technical guide to the selection and use of fall prevention & arrest equipment
Sponsor: Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
Year: 2004
Other useful links:
REGULATORY SIGNIFICANCE
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 also referred to as HASAW or HSW, is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in the United Kingdom. The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for enforcing the Act and a number of other Acts and Statutory Instruments relevant to the working environment. One of the most significant of these Statutory Instruments is the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, commonly referred to as ‘The Management Regulations'. These complement and expand on the Act by stating the main requirements of employers which includes the need for a suitable and sufficient risk assessment.
The Construction Design and Management Regulations 2007 are considered the main legislation specific to construction projects. These combine the original CDM Regulations with the old Construction Health Safety and Welfare Regulations 1996. Under these regulations every party to a construction project has legal duties that they need to be aware of. The School of the Built and Natural Environment can provide training in all aspects of CDM: contact Pamela.Thomson@gcal.ac.uk. There are also other cross-industry Regulations, such as the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and many more. The School provides training and CPD classes on these subjects also.
FURTHER INFORMATION AND COMMENTS
For further information on construction H&S, please contact Dr Iain Cameron or Dr Billy Hare:
i.cameron@gcal.ac.uk 0141 331 3297
b.hare@gcal.ac.uk 0141 331 3908
