Enforcement action at one in five construction sites

In a month long initiative between 18 February and 15 March, HSE inspectors visited 2363 sites where repair work or refurbishment was taking place and saw 2976 contractors. 631 enforcement notices were served across 433 sites for poor practices that could put workers at risk, and 451 notices ordered that work stop until the situation was put right.

HSE chief inspector of construction Philip White said: “This initiative has once again shown us that the majority of construction employers do take their responsibilities to their workers seriously. However, our inspectors also encountered numerous examples of poor practice, from lack of edge protection on stairwells and scaffolding to unsafe storage of flammable materials and inadequate PPE. None of these are acceptable on a modern construction site.”