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Safety and Health Practitioner (SHP) is first for independent health and safety news.
January 14, 2013

Deaths among specialist contractors drop by half

The number of specialist contractors killed as a result of their work has fallen by half, over the nine years since the National Specialist Contractors Council (NSCC) began to capture accident data from its members.

The results from the 2011/12 accident survey show that the NSCC fatality rate has fallen by 50 per cent, the major injury rate by 43 per cent and the over-three-day rate by 60 per cent since 2003/04.

Last year, the NSCC fatal injury rate was 1.8 per 100,000 workers, compared with the industry rate of 2.3 per 100,000 workers. The Council’s major injury rate was 204.1 per 100,000 workers and the over-three-day injury rate was 496 per 100,000 workers – a fall of 22 per cent from the previous year’s total.

Almost half of all accidents occurring to employees of Council members resulted from either handling, lifting and carrying, or slip and trips, which is consistent with all industries in the UK, including construction, says the NSCC.

More than 2300 businesses provided information as part of the annual survey. The size of the workforce covered by the survey increased to more than 112,000 operatives, compared with 98,000 in 2010/11, which indicates that employment levels in the specialist sector have stabilised.

NSCC chief executive Suzannah Nichol MBE said: “Construction is a high-risk industry but the success of the Olympic Delivery Authority in delivering the Olympic Park with no fatalities and a below-average accident rate proves that, if we make health and safety on site a priority, we can successfully reduce the number of accidents that occur.

“By collating accident information from the specialist sector, NSCC is able to identify trends and tailor the guidance and support available to members to reduce the risk of similar accidents recurring in the future.”

From 6 April last year, the HSE extended the period before an injury needs to be reported under RIDDOR from over three days to over seven days. The NSCC accident survey for 2012/13 will be updated accordingly, in line with these changes.

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