Steel shows safety way forward

The health and safety performance of BCSA member companies continued to improve last year according to the latest Reportable Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (RIDDOR) figures.

The 2014 results show that there were no fatal accidents and there was a reduction in all reportable injury categories, including a 60% fall in ‘slips, trips and falls’.

The results continue a trend that has continued almost without interruption for 15 years. The steel construction sector has exceeded government and construction industry health and safety targets since 2010 and has improved further each year since. In that year BCSA announced a 60% reduction in accidents over the previous ten years, exceeding the government target of a 10% reduction over ten years.

BCSA Director of Health, Safety and Training Pete Walker said: “The reduction is a very good result that demonstrates the industry is committed to improving working practices and procedures. Some of these procedures have been developed with the BCSA health and safety committee, using their shared experiences to address current issues and encourage the spread of best practice.

“The target for the construction industry must remain zero accidents and the steel sector is showing the way forward.”