Written by FL Ng for SQC Times Issue 22
Construction is among the industries with the highest risk of fatal injuries. In recent years, along with agriculture, transportation and storage, it accounts for 60% of fatal injuries. Non-fatal accident rates continue to be a problem, having risen by 20% since 1997.
Absenteeism, business interruption and long term sickness all impact on a companies profitability through lost time, sick pay and failure to complete contracts on time. In serious cases a manufacturer or construction site can be shut down while the reason for the accident is investigated by the HSE.
The uninsured costs of dealing with Health and Safety incidents, including management time and lost production are between 8 and 36 times the amount recoverable under insurance, not counting lost opportunities. Following the shocking increase in the number of construction industry fatalities in recent years, the industry is coming together to try to address this problem.
Uptake of OHSAS 18001:2007 enables companies to look at managing their health and safety in a detailed and logical way and put procedures in place to protect all their staff, whether from the deaths and accidents on construction sites that we’ve heard so much about in recent years or from issues such as stress-related illnesses.” OHSAS 18001 was launched in 1999 and has been used in 82 countries, with 24,500 companies certified.
The update aligns OHSAS 18001:2007 with the environmental standard ISO 14001 and the quality standard ISO 9001 and will make it easier for firms to implement an integrated management system and demonstrate that their health and safety, environmental and quality systems are being managed efficiently.
The health and safety policy has to be communicated to everyone who works under the control of an organisation and so, for the first time, includes contractors and self-employed workers. All people in the workplace must take responsibility for aspects of health and safety which they have control over, moving accountability down the chain of command into the hands of contractors and self employed workers as well as employees.
The occupational health side of health and safety and should help companies reduce the number of working days lost due to ill-health and stress. It also highlights the need for a commitment to continual improvement in both health and safety management and performance.
The construction industry, when compared to other industries, has the worst health and safety record for both fatal and serious accidents even though it is one of the most highly regulated industries. Everyone has a responsibility to work safely and prevent injury to themselves and others. One way we can all achieve this is to have an effective health and safety management system.
Amongst other things, it provides a major focus on issues such as accident prevention, and provides reassurance to clients that health and safety is being managed in a professional manner and that there is a system in place to achieve continuous improvement in this vital area. All construction companies are recommended to implement OHSAS
18001:2007 without delay.
18001:2007 without delay.
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