White: changing role
Fees for intervention added up to nearly three quarters of a million pounds in the first two months of the new regime in which contractors are charged for inspectors’ time if they breach health and safety rules, Philip White, the HSE’s chief inspector for construction revealed this week. White also said that virtually all of 433 sites revealed this week as breaching safety rules in a month long HSE blitz of refurbishment projects would be charged for intervention.
White, who is moving on to a new role in the HSE at the end of this week after four years as chief inspector for construction, also criticised the poor welfare facilities that many workers were being subjected to across the UK’s construction sites.
White said that 1,418 invoices were issued for the health and safety breaches in the first two months – October and November – amounting to £728,000. Invoices went out in January. Since then invoices have been sent out for those breaching rules in December and January, which have yet to be totalled. Those who have found to breach legislation in February and March including the 433 caught out in this latest blitz will receive invoices in May. These latest tranche of charges are expected to take the bill for contractors to well over £1m.
In this latest crackdown, which took place between 18 February and 15 March, one in five construction sites visited across Britain have been subject to enforcement action after failing safety checks. Inspectors from the HSE visited a total of 2,363 sites where refurbishment or repair work was taking place and saw 2,976 contractors. A total of 631 enforcement notices were served across 433 sites for poor practices that could put workers at risk, with 451 notices ordering that work stop immediately until the situation was put right.
A total of 631 enforcement notices were served across 433 sites for poor practices in the latest HSE blitz
Checks were also carried out on whether there was general good order on site, whether PPE was being used effectively and if welfare facilities were adequate. White said:
“It never ceases to amaze me how poor welfare facilities – like hot running water, toilets and places to eat – are on sites.”
White said that the majority of breaches in this latest blitz were to do with working at height and were predominantly on smaller sites. He said there appeared to be have been a stagnation in improvement in H&S in the last year and the HSE would keep up the pressure on the industry to comply with good health and safety practice. However, compared with 10 years ago, there had been a noticeable improvement.
During 2011/12 49 workers were killed while working in construction and 2,884 major injuries were reported. White has also recently criticised the proliferation of health and safety card schemes and called for consolidation.
