HSE Expresses Concern over Violation of Regulations in Construction Sector
There are serious violations of health and safety regulations in many construction sites across the UK. A recent check done by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that at least 20% construction sites are committing major violations of these rules, thus endangering the workers.
The checks were carried out in 1,759 refurbishment sites under 2,145 contractors. In the year 2008, about half of on-site deaths in the construction industry happened in the refurbishment, repair, and maintenance sector, and this sector still remains the main culprit.
In the latest checks, it was found that there were major compliance problems in about 350 of the inspected sites and the inspectors had to issue over 500 notices requiring immediate compliance or stoppage of work.
However, the HSE also reported that this is actually an improvement over the last year when 30% of the inspected sites had to be issued notices. The new Chief Inspector of Construction, Phillip White, expressed disappointment over such a high level of non-compliance while at the same time acknowledged the fact that at least some progress has been made. He also expressed the need for much more to be done since the compliance level is below acceptable standards. He said that this inspection drive was advertised in advance and still the contractors had shown an utter disregard for the regulations.
The biggest concern is the lack of enforcement of rules regarding works done at a height, which claimed lives of 34 workers in the last year, but there has not been much improvement so far.
All staff and management must be fully aware of and comply with health and safety regulations as laid down by law. Find out about the range of courses including the highly rated fire risk assessment training available from the experts at Workplace Law Training.
