Over 2,000 unannounced health and safety inspections this month

Over 2,000 building sites across the UK will be visited by Government health and safety inspectors this month.

Local inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Britain’s national regulator for workplace safety will be making unannounced visits to target poor safety standards in Devon, Cornwall and Dorset.

HSE inspectors will be checking high-risk activities such as working with harmful materials is managed properly and checking that the welfare facilities are adequate.

In the South West last year 4 people were killed while working on construction sites and over 250 were seriously injured.

Despite high industry standards construction workers are still nearly four times as likely to be killed at work compared to the average worker with an estimated 70,000 in the industry suffering from ill health as a result of their work.

Principal Inspector for Construction for Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, Jo Teasdale, said: 

“Too many people die every year on Britain’s construction sites as a result of entirely avoidable incidents.

“Just as importantly, the causes of ill health, such as unnecessary exposure to asbestos or silica dust can also have fatal or debilitating consequences.

“Often we find it is smaller companies working on refurbishment and repair work who are failing to protect their workers through a lack of awareness and poor control of risks.

“This initiative provides a chance to engage with these firms to help them understand what they need to do, so they can put in place the practical measures needed to keep people safe.

“However, if we find evidence that workers are being unnecessarily and irresponsibly put at risk we will not hesitate to take robust action. Companies who deliberately cut corners and put their workers or others at risk will feel the full weight of the law.”

A large proportion of those injured at work however are self-employed and it is urged that self-employed carpenters stay informed of safe working practices.

Carpenters and Joiners makeup the largest proportion of the non-fatal major injuries with 191 serious injuries by these occupations last year and another 669 injuries which put them out of work for more than three days.