HSE begins second phase of construction site inspections as occupational health focus continues

HSE has already inspected over 2,000 construction sites this year during the first phase of the initiative. The second phase of the campaign will focus on control of harmful dusts as well as work at height, structural safety, materials handling, good order and welfare provision.

The new wave of inspections coincides with the publication of sector-specific plans by HSE, which identify how the regulator intends to channel its resources in order to best tackle health and safety issues for each of 19 different types of workplace. Construction remains a particular area of focus for HSE, which said that 43 workers were fatally injured in 2015/16 while a further 65,000 non-fatal injuries were self-reported. Over 400 workers died as a result of construction-related ill health, HSE said.

Health and safety law expert Sean Elson of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that the initiative "shows that the increasing emphasis on occupational health by the HSE has real substance".

"Employers need to look carefully at the occupational health risks within their business and consider whether their existing OH policies and arrangements reflect the importance of getting this right," he said.

In a statement, HSE said that there was a "misconception" that health issues, particularly those caused by lengthy exposure to silica from concrete, brick and stone, or wood or asbestos dusts, could not be controlled on construction sites. Exposure can be managed effectively with the right design, equipment and training, it said.

"In phase 1 of this campaign, HSE's inspectors found lots of good examples of small sites working safely and protecting workers' health from exposure to harmful dusts, proving it can be done," said Peter Baker, HSE's chief inspector of construction. "My message to smaller businesses is don't wait for an accident or a visit from an HSE inspector - learn from the success of others and act now."

Firms should also be careful not to cut corners during refurbishment work, which currently accounts for nearly half of the fatal accidents and injuries reported to HSE by construction firms, Baker said.

"Small refurbishment sites continue to cut corners and not properly protect their workers, resulting in an unacceptable number of deaths and injuries each year," he said.

Health and safety law expert Kevin Bridges of Pinsent Masons said that the HSE had identified the construction sector in the relevant sector plan as one of its main priorities, as an area where "the health and safety challenges are greatest and where HSE interventions can have the greatest impact".

"Increasingly, multi-million pound fines are being handed down for health and safety offences irrespective of any harm caused, so this phase of inspections by the HSE is significant and duty-holders should prepare for them," he said.