Building Site Safety Targeted

Construction sites across the West Midlands will be visited as part of an intensive inspection initiative aimed at reducing death and injury in one of Britain's most dangerous industries.

During 2009/10, four workers died while working in construction across the West Midlands - and two of these occurred during refurbishment, repair and maintenance activities. These will be the main focus of the latest inspections by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

On the unannounced visits regional inspectors will ensure that sites are managing work at height safely and that they are in good order, as well as checking that the risk of exposure to asbestos is being properly managed.

Last year inspectors visited over 180 sites and inspected more than 200 contractors. They were forced to issue more than 40 prohibition notices to stop dangerous work - much of it relating to working from height.

Alan Craddock, HSE Head of Construction for the West Midlands, said: "This will be the fifth year that we have run the inspection initiative across Britain and we anticipate that that there will be examples of both good and bad practice - those where employers are taking all the measures they can to protect their workers and those where safety is way down the list of priorities.

"A lax attitude to health and safety in one of the more dangerous industries is not acceptable, especially when many of the incidents are completely avoidable by taking common sense actions and precautions. As we’ve demonstrated in previous years, we will not hesitate to take action if we find poor practice that is putting the lives of workers at risk.

"This year, as part of ensuring risks from asbestos are properly managed, we will also be checking that, where appropriate, asbestos surveys have been carried out prior to any refurbishment work.

"Many workers believe that, because asbestos has been banned as a building material, it’s no longer a threat to them. But that simply isn’t true. Any premises built or refurbished before 2000 could contain asbestos."

(BMcN/GK)