Why Is Health and Safety on Construction Sites So Important?

Because to live is more important than to work. We work to live and not the other way around!

Construction is a risky profession with one of the highest fatality rate. 3% of workers (66,000) get inured at site while 4% (80,000) suffer from work related illness every year on the average. That’s some big number, isn’t it? Wrong. The industry has seen days much worse.

To gain some further insight into the problem, let’s crunch some more numbers from years gone by. Here are some official figures for the 2014-15 period. Have a look:

· 142 construction workers were killed while working on site

· 611,000 cases of injury – minor and major – took place within a construction site

· A whopping 27.3 million workdays were lost due to on site injury and illness

· The cost of these injuries and illness is estimated to be £14.3 billion

Good Health and Safety practice at sites ensures well-being of workers, companies, industry and society at large. Workers become safer and more productive whereas companies get bigger and more profitable. In a nutshell, it’s a win-win situation for everyone. Let’s dive in for detailed explanation.

How it benefits workers?

It saves them from fatalities. It’s certainly not a nice feeling being sick, injured or in extreme cases dead. There is no “loss of income” and a “high medical cost” to worry about. Moreover, it also boosts their morale, productivity and consequently career.

How it benefits Companies?

Fatalities at sites invite prosecution, bad press, decline in production and loss of revenue. Everyone avoids unsafe projects be it workers, customers or investors and thus it becomes all the more important for companies to care for health and safety of workers.

Prosecution is feared the most as it might delay or shelve the project resulting in loss of millions of pounds. Bad press is equally harmful as not only it turns customers away but also dent the reputation build over years.

Adopting Health and Safety standards also helps project be completed on budget and times. Safe and healthy workplace makes workers more efficient and this reflects well on the project. As per a survey by Research agency Glenigan, Historic 64% of construction project were completed on budget while a record 40% were over on time in 2015 thanks to the growing adoption of Health and Safety standards at sites.

How do we ensure health and safety standards at sites?

We do it by preventing unqualified access to site. We disqualify workers without proper health and safety training from working on sites. To prove you are a worker trained in safety, there is a CSCS Card to get. The trick is that you can’t get the card without attending a Health and safety awareness course and then passing a safety test which ensure you have developed the ability to ensure a safer and healthier site. Moreover, the card also certifies you are a competent worker with good knowledge of your trade.