New figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reveal that the UK’s work safety record leaves plenty of room for improvement. The 2012/13 HSE report shows that 148 deaths occurred in British workplaces – a rate of one per 200,000 employees. There were over 78,000 non-fatal injuries, over a quarter of which were classed as major. Although the number of reported injuries has been dropping steadily over the last five years, the target must always be zero incidents.
The health and safety landscape is constantly developing - here
are just a couple of examples of recent changes to legislation:
- As recently as October 2013, the HSE implemented changes to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR). These altered the classification of major injuries and work-related illness along with the reporting of ‘dangerous occurrences’.
- The HSE introduced the Fee for Intervention in 2012, which means that those who break its health and safety laws must pay the costs incurred from inspection, investigation and taking enforcement action.
Gibbons Group has a very strong safety record in an industry
classed as ‘high risk’ in the HSE report. We’re fully committed to the welfare
of our staff and hold BH OHSAS 18001 accreditation, the British Standard for
occupational health and safety management. Alongside this, we’re Achilles UVDB
Verify certified, meaning we’re pre-approved as a supplier to the UK utilities
industry.
Beyond completing risk assessments, permit-to-work
documentation and fulfilling all other legal requirements, we carry out site assessments
on our staff to ensure work is carried out to the utmost level of safety and
quality.
Despite our excellent safety record and systems, we will
never be completely satisfied with anything less than zero incidents and will
strive to continue improving our record until this is achieved.
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