July 16, 2003—The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recently launched a new brochure explaining the “High 5” ways to make construction sites a safe place to work. Aimed at people running small construction businesses and at workers on small construction sites, the leaflet was produced for the Working Well Together (WWT) campaign, the country’s largest construction health and safety campaign to date. According to the HSE, 75% of those killed or injured in the construction industry are self-employed or work for small businesses of 15 or less employees, and these small businesses make up 98% of the economically active construction industry.
The High 5 issues identified in the leaflet are:
- HIGH 1—Tidy sites and decent welfare
Slips and trips are the most common cause of injuries at work. The HSE says tidy sites and decent welfare are the basics of a good site. HIGH 2—Falls from Height
Falls from height are the biggest cause of fatal and serious injuries in construction. They account for 50% of all deaths. Many accidents involve falls from roofs, through fragile materials, from ladders, and from leading edges. HIGH 3—Manual Handling
Manual handling injuries from working with heavy, awkward materials, often in cold and wet conditions, are one of the most common reasons why workers leave construction.
HIGH 4—Transport
“When people and vehicles collide, people come off worse—so keep them apart!”
HIGH 5—Asbestos
Many buildings in the UK contain asbestos. The HSE advises anyone thinking of working in a building that was built or renovated up to the 1980s to assume it contains asbestos until proved otherwise.
The leaflet introduces the High 5 health and safety issues and directs readers to additional related guidance and information for each topic.
A copy will also soon be available to download free from the WWT Web site. Single copies of the leaflet and any of the free and priced publications listed in it can be ordered from HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 2WA.
