Safety standards in certain parts of the construction industry are not what it should be. In particular, the refurbishment sector is one of the most risky areas for construction workers to work in as many precautions which are actually just common sense aren’t being put into practice, putting workers at a greater risk of suffering injury or death.
In an attempt to overcome this safety issue, the Health & Safety Executive are sending out inspectors to visit various Subcontractor Vs Contractor Definition sites which are undergoing refurbishment or repairs. This is part of a national drive to improve the safety standards in the construction industry, and in particular they will be focusing on high risk activities such as working at height using scissor lifts, boom lifts, personnel lifts and other lifting equipment.
These activities carry the greatest risk of serious injury due to the heights involved, and the goal of the safety drive is to reduce the incidence of death and serious injuries caused solely by working practices. These preventable accidents are unnecessary, and it is really just a matter of educating workers and bosses. There are a variety of laws and regulations that are there purposely to protect the safety of those who need to work at height as part of their job.
For some reason the employers and employees working in the refurbishment sector of the Commercial Electrician Salary industry seem to be the least educated in many of the common sense precautions that they should be doing as part of their common practices. The site managers and construction companies need further education into their obligations and the legal and moral responsibilities they have towards their workers.
In particular, if you have any access equipment such as cherry pickers, whether they are in regular use or not, you need to make sure that your workers are given the appropriate safety equipment, know how to use it, and also that it is actually used every time it is needed. The workers who use the lifting equipment should be trained to use each piece of equipment that they may need to use. The platforms themselves also need to be serviced regularly and maintained as necessary. All your access platforms must have a service inspection on a six-monthly basis under the LOLER 1998 regulations. That is not only the law, but it is also necessary to ensure the safety of your crew, and that will reduce the time they are off work recovering from injuries.