The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is to target Birmingham construction sites, as development in the city has increased in the run-up to the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The HSE said that as the Games approached, the number of construction schemes across the city centre had almost doubled in 2021.
Inspectors will be visiting sites in the area to see how companies are keeping their workers, and anyone affected by the work they do, healthy and safe. If an employer is breaking the law, an inspector can issue an improvement notice which allows a minimum of 21 days for the problem to put right or, for the most serious breaches, a prosecution may be launched.
Sarah Hill, one of the HSE inspectors leading the campaign, said: “With a high volume of construction sites in the busy city centre, there is inevitably more potential for incidents which can result in life-changing injuries or worse and working environments which can pose respiratory risks and are hazardous to workers’ health and wellbeing.
“This week, HSE colleagues and I will be visiting sites across the city to check that employers are managing risk and keeping workers and the public safe. The fatal injury rate in the construction sector is around four times the all-industry rate, while over 3,500 builders die each year from cancers related to their work, so this is reminder to employers that there is no room for complacency or non-compliance.
“The majority of work-related illness, injuries and fatalities are wholly avoidable if those responsible for the welfare of their workers follow health and safety guidance and regulation. Construction is a high-risk industry, but those that work in it are as entitled as everyone else to go home safe and well at the end of the day.”
