A sad indictment of the construction industry

[Grahams]

Reading a piece in the telegraph about the construction industry. One person per week dying on sites arround the UK and 470,000 per year reported non fatal injuries. You would have thought we could do better than this.
My dad lost most of one foot in an accident on a road construction job in the 70's and it was a terrible time not only for him, but the whole family.

One person dies on a construction site every week, figures reveal

Campaigners criticise ‘inadequate’ health and safety awareness that results in preventable harm

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[V8Druid]

Reading a piece in the telegraph about the construction industry. One person per week dying on sites arround the UK and 470,000 per year reported non fatal injuries. You would have thought we could do better than this.
My dad lost most of one foot in an accident on a road construction job in the 70's and it was a terrible time not only for him, but the whole family.

One person dies on a construction site every week, figures reveal

Campaigners criticise ‘inadequate’ health and safety awareness that results in preventable harm

www.telegraph.co.uk

" an “inadequate” awareness of health and safety procedures that result in “preventable” and “severe physical harm”. " and a total, utter lack of any common sense or self preservation instinct in most cases, sadly

 

[Lancs Lad]

Reading a piece in the telegraph about the construction industry. One person per week dying on sites arround the UK and 470,000 per year reported non fatal injuries. You would have thought we could do better than this.
My dad lost most of one foot in an accident on a road construction job in the 70's and it was a terrible time not only for him, but the whole family.

One person dies on a construction site every week, figures reveal

Campaigners criticise ‘inadequate’ health and safety awareness that results in preventable harm

www.telegraph.co.uk

Wonder what the stats were 50 years ago?
It's hardly like they don't appear to have implemented every conceivable preventative measure?

Or is it simply Darwin award candidates on cowboy jobs?

 

[Smiffy]

Wonder what the stats were 50 years ago?
It's hardly like they don't appear to have implemented every conceivable preventative measure?

Or is it simply Darwin award candidates on cowboy jobs?

I think at the end of the day try as hard as you like. Accidents will happen.
I think it is more telling of modern society that we can litigate accidents out of existence.

 

[JD450A]

Wonder what the stats were 50 years ago?
It's hardly like they don't appear to have implemented every conceivable preventative measure?

Or is it simply Darwin award candidates on cowboy jobs?

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Deaths-of-UK-construction-employees-in-the-25-years-prior-to-the-CDM-Regulations-were_fig1_245407835

 

[Grahams]

Wonder what the stats were 50 years ago?
It's hardly like they don't appear to have implemented every conceivable preventative measure?

Or is it simply Darwin award candidates on cowboy jobs?

My guess would be mostly the latter. You can't teach stupid.

 

[Grahams]

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Deaths-of-UK-construction-employees-in-the-25-years-prior-to-the-CDM-Regulations-were_fig1_245407835

The downward curve has pretty much flattened out, so I guess we are at the lower limit of what health and safety can avoid. Probably won't stop new H&S rules each week.
Maybe better trying to weed out the idiots before the kill themselves or worse, others.

 

[JD450A]

The downward curve has pretty much flattened out, so I guess we are at the lower limit of what health and safety can avoid. Probably won't stop new H&S rules each week.
Maybe better trying to weed out the idiots before the kill themselves or worse, others.

My honest opinion is we reached the Low in the late 80's and it's been mostly a reduced amount of high risk works that have made it low..... 2000/2001 are a good indicator of that..... more high risk work, more deaths.

 

[Simon edwards]

The brutal truth is that we work in an inherentry dangerous industry,along with farming,forestry,commercial fishing,haulage,the military, life is dangerous! All the legislative measures and bullshit are in my old school / ignorant opinion of no relevance when it comes to real world situations at the blunt end of construction or whatever. All the RAMS etc. work brilliantly to protect Johnny and jilly do f##k all from achy keyboard wrists,getting run over in the office car park or It being too cold in the vape shelter.
You go into these industries with an awareness of the risks and with sensible mentoring in the early days capable individuals should be fine,others will damage themselves in life anyway. I have had a lifetime in this game as have most on this forum,says something really!I have had more injuries through sport or general “misguided nonsense” than through work.
Stay sharp people,it’s a dangerous game we proudly play.

 

[Grahams]

What dangerous projects were there in 2000/2001?

 

[bobthebuilder]

What dangerous projects were there in 2000/2001?

window cleaning on the twin towers ?

 

[craig]

I do wonder if there is a element of certain people thinking because of whole H&S things like induction, toolbox talk, RAMS, tickets etc, they think its all planed out and nothing can go wrong, and not think for themselves as much as they could

 

[Smiffy]

I do wonder if there is a element of certain people thinking because of whole H&S things like induction, toolbox talk, RAMS, tickets etc, they think its all planed out and nothing can go wrong, and not think for themselves as much as they could

That's a definite.
Also many that don't think full stop.

 

[JD450A]

What dangerous projects were there in 2000/2001?

Construction death toll rockets to 10-year high

THE NUMBER of people killed in the construction industry has reached its highest level in more than 10 years.Construction News has learned that Health and

www.constructionnews.co.uk

 

[6feetdown]

Construction death toll rockets to 10-year high

THE NUMBER of people killed in the construction industry has reached its highest level in more than 10 years.Construction News has learned that Health and

www.constructionnews.co.uk

Good to see the cscs card working well.
I wonder if a lot is down to people not giving a damn, drug taking, can't speak English ?

 

[Smiffy]

Good to see the cscs card working well.
I wonder if a lot is down to people not giving a damn, drug taking, can't speak English ?

It is solely down to the construction industry becoming a dumping ground. Anyone with half a brain cell that would in the past have become a tradesman, is now told they must go to University and work behind a desk and that working with your hands is shameful. Anyone vaguely intelligent either progresses incredibly quickly or goes out on there own.
The standards on site is staggeringly low.
Yet you can't get rid as everyone is so short staffed.
The only thing that will better trades now is making them respected positions. However we seem far to content to idolize football players and pornstars. Sorry I mean tik Tok influencers. We are swiftly heading towards being a third world nation. I don't think we will sink souch but other countries will overtake us and we will be looked down upon.

 

[Lancs Lad]

It is solely down to the construction industry becoming a dumping ground. Anyone with half a brain cell that would in the past have become a tradesman, is now told they must go to University and work behind a desk and that working with your hands is shameful. Anyone vaguely intelligent either progresses incredibly quickly or goes out on there own.
The standards on site is staggeringly low.
Yet you can't get rid as everyone is so short staffed.
The only thing that will better trades now is making them respected positions. However we seem far to content to idolize football players and pornstars. Sorry I mean tik Tok influencers. We are swiftly heading towards being a third world nation. I don't think we will sink souch but other countries will overtake us and we will be looked down upon.

Drive past any "top tier" site and this is plainly obvious.
Spent far to much of my life watching HS2 or j10 M25 "operatives" to confirm this.

 

[Bri963]

You can’t blame people if there are easier and more lucrative career options.In this sort of work, if you have anything about you, you soon realise that nowadays you aren’t going to get rich operating someone else’s machine, and as soon as you strike out on your own, you either find a niche, as several on here have, or you go mainstream. Which, to get anywhere, means taking on staff, and the circle of life continues.

 

[JD450A]

You can’t blame people if there are easier and more lucrative career options.In this sort of work, if you have anything about you, you soon realise that nowadays you aren’t going to get rich operating someone else’s machine, and as soon as you strike out on your own, you either find a niche, as several on here have, or you go mainstream. Which, to get anywhere, means taking on staff, and the circle of life continues.

I stand by the opinion though that construction plant in particular is shackled to being seen as a dead end career and does not have the qualification structure to enable people to progress up and into higher (well deserved) positions.

The money is significantly better than most equivalent industries.... So why is recruitment a problem.

 

[Smiffy]

You can’t blame people if there are easier and more lucrative career options.In this sort of work, if you have anything about you, you soon realise that nowadays you aren’t going to get rich operating someone else’s machine, and as soon as you strike out on your own, you either find a niche, as several on here have, or you go mainstream. Which, to get anywhere, means taking on staff, and the circle of life continues.

If you actually look into wages in this country. Construction is actually very well paying. And the average tradesman is earning a fair wedge more than some university qualified positions.
Yes you have the hard work aspect still. But in the grand scheme of things it is being rewarded when you compare to national average wage. The national average is £37,430 that's just under £144 a day.
I don't know how self employed people are factored into that number without looking into it more. But if you reckon that being self employed even as a cis tradesman on a big site you need 25-30% extra than paye to break even then the average site worker is still a fairway ahead of the curve.