Lessons in safety - October 23

SOME 78,000 construction workers suffered from work-related ill health (new or long-standing) over the three-year period 2019/20-2021/22¹ ; with musculoskeletal disorders, work-related stress, depression or anxiety accounting for the majority. But I believe the unseen, latent risks – dust, asbestos, noise, vibration – are still hugely important and significant when it comes to educating and influencing workers. 

I think asbestos can sometimes be thought of as a bit ‘old hat’, with it being banned nearly 25 years ago now, and people being much more aware of the risks associated with it. Although figures have reduced slightly in line with earlier projections that deaths would reduce during the 2020s, annual mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain are still significant, with 2,268 deaths reported in 2021². It’s estimated that 1.5 million buildings³ in the UK still contain asbestos; as time goes by, these buildings will require maintenance, repair or demolition, so it’s vital that we continue to raise worker awareness and implement suitable control measures to reduce the risks.

In a similar vein, occupational deafness⁴, hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) and carpal tunnel⁵ have seen a broadly downward trend in recent times. But as we know, many examples of work-related ill health are often decades in the making, so a younger worker may not know they have been impacted by a workplace health hazard until they are older and ill health symptoms arise. If we want to maintain or decrease the statistics we must keep up the momentum on raising awareness around workplace ill health issues. 

The construction sector is also in need of more workers – 225,000 by 2027 according to research by Construction Skills Network⁶ – and so education for these new recruits on long-term unseen health risks will be vitally important to keep people safe and healthy throughout their working lives and into old age. 

Health and safety professionals will need to draw upon all of their communication and influencing skills to encourage individuals to make the right choices when it comes to protecting their health. As much as we can put control measures and educational initiatives in place, we cannot supervise workers for every minute they are working on site – they need to make the right choices to use the protection measures put in place, even when a risk is not ‘seen’ or consequences are not immediate. 

There are a couple of added challenges too. Construction has long been a male dominant industry and a piece of 2023 research⁷ signposts several papers as well as its own findings that suggest men are more willing take risks within their work. 

Secondly, more recently, the cost of living and inflation in the UK is a real concern for workers; a report earlier this summer found that one in three people have an extra source of income with 37% of those stating it was due to cost of living concerns⁸. Some of these ‘side jobs’ may not have the full health and safety controls in place, if carried out independently or with no health and safety management system in place, putting these workers at risk. The impact of great health and safety professionals can reach well beyond the confines of the immediate workplace and its safety controls. Their influence can also extend to other, second-job environments and even to tasks performed for friends or at home, helping to prevent potential long-term health issues stemming from tasks where proper protective measures or controls might not be in place. 

The NEBOSH Health and Safety Management for Construction (UK) qualification covers a wide range of technical and soft skills to help learners influence health and safety in the construction industry and meets the criteria for the CSCS AQP card. For further information visit: www.nebosh.org.uk/construction-uk

References

¹ https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/industry/construction.pdf

² https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/mesothelioma/mesothelioma.pdf

³ https://www.asbestos.com/news/2019/11/27/report-million-uk-buildings-contain-asbestos-infographic/#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20new%20report,prior%20to%20the%201999%20ban.

⁴ https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/deafness/index.htm

⁵ https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/vibration/index.htm

⁶ https://www.citb.co.uk/about-citb/construction-industry-research-reports/construction-skills-network-csn/

⁷ https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjop.12668

⁸ https://uw.co.uk/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/brits-earn-10k-extra-a-year-through-second-jobs

Natalie Sherborne is product development manager at NEBOSH. For more information, visit www.nebosh.org.uk