First the good news. The number of people killed or injured at work in the UK during 2008/09 shows a marked decline on previous years.
But before we all head for the pub for a celebratory (yet safe) drink, here’s the bad news. Construction accounted for more than a third of all work-related deaths, 53 in all.
Now as someone whose primary interest is demolition, it would be nice to sit back and smile smugly at the fact that my sector has a far better safety record; and that the demolition industry’s adoption of mechanization and improved methods have largely consigned accidents and fatalities to the history books.
Sadly, due to what is either a quirk of statistics or a concerted effort to up construction’s average, the accident and fatality stats for demolition remain inexplicably mired within the construction figures. So while figures from the National Federation of Demolition Contractors membership continue to show a marked decline in both reportable accidents and fatalities, the general public continues to believe that all hard hat-wearing workers share the same reduced-life-expectancy-cum-death-wish.
The fact is that demolition remains a hazardous industry in which to work, and dangers and risks are ever present.
However, thanks to a concerted and ongoing training offensive, the sensible use of equipment and the development and adoption of ever-better work practices, it continues to set an example to its cousins in the construction industry.
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