|
8 February 2005 - Safety Awareness Day in
York for Housebuilding Industry
Navigation
A Safety Awareness Day for local housebuilders, contractors,
their workers, apprentices and self-employed sub-contractors will take place on
Wednesday 9 February 2005 at Askham Bryan College, York.
The event will provide half hourly demonstrations from industry
specialists in areas such as the following:
-
Managing risks of falls from height.
-
Transport management.
-
Safe working in excavations.
-
Controlling the risks from underground services.
-
The use of mechanical handling devices.
-
General site operative training and competence issues.
There will also be an exhibition showing what the market has on
offer in safety equipment and safety support systems.
A partnership of 13 Yorkshire and Northern housebuilders, the
National Federation of Builders, the Federation of Master Builders and the
National House Builders Corporation, working together, are responsible for this
event. Their aim is to raise awareness of safety within mainly the
small contractors, their apprentices and sub-contractors.
The Principal Inspector for the construction industry in West
and North Yorkshire commented:
"The HSE has worked with the industry over the last 10 years
to improve safety standards in the region. The safety record in Yorkshire has
improved during that period but sadly there are still preventable incidents that
leave workers seriously injured and very occasionally killed. For example
inspectors have investigated three incidents where employees have fallen whilst
installing new joist/floor systems in the past year causing major injury
accidents and inspectors report much more work is still needed to reduce the
risk of injury by better control of site transport. Regrettably a fatal accident
occurred in 2003 in West Yorkshire when a worker was crushed by a telescopic
handler on a large flat building site.
"Smaller housebuilders particularly find it difficult to keep
up with the safety aspects of new methods of construction but it is they who
suffer most when incidents occur and they have to explain to their workmate's
family that their loved one is in hospital, or even worse, will not be coming
home. They owe it to their workforce to keep up to date with standards... and,
of course, it may help them win contracts."
Article by Alexandra Johnston
|
