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requirements of sites so that managers can do just that – manage the workforce they are there to oversee.
The option discussed earlier would also, at least from this position, seems to have some sense to it, that of random field inspections by independent authorities that would have the power to warn, sanction or remove from site (if the safety breech called for it) anyone found to be failing to implement practices required by their training or by the current legislation. Simply requiring an investigation after the fact of an accident will not help prevent it or remove the injuries or deaths caused by it. It is better surely to ensure that the workforce does what needs to be to prevent an accident in the first place and not try to legislate it out at some unknown time in the future.
The funding argument does of course still stand. However, it would not take an army of inspectors to achieve the random assessment programme. It would probably be better if it were just a very few inspectors so that no-one would be able to know where they are or when they might strike. The element of surprise would be the key to success with this option. They would of course need to be the best in their fields so that they could without any doubt pick up on the potentially hidden short cuts that might be being utilised on site by what is probably an very few unscrupulous members of the workforce or possibly even the management team seeking better profits.
But who will step up to take on this role. The HSE would probably look at this as an additional burden in an already busy operation and any approved independent operators would probably want to profit from this quite significantly. Furthermore the industry would baulk at the prospect of funding such a programme, even though it should not cost that much with a small dedicated and well trained and experienced team taken from industry itself.
If this option is not a possibility given the austere times we live in then the industry must police itself. There are those that say it already does by requiring the levels of training that are currently expected of its workers – but we are seeing that accident level improvements have stalled so something is not working. It may be that small increases in fees for training could be added to course costs across all the different areas of interest and training that might be put towards, if not totally fund, such an inspection option – but even as I write this I can hear the scream echo back in time from next month as readers in this sector yell that these courses already cost enough.
However, to expect that a workforce will, without fail, implement all safety aspects at all times when not independently checked and supervised is perhaps a pipedream. Only if an operative believes
that he/she may be inspected in his/her workplace unannounced will they tend to ensure that everything is right every time.
The numbers (apparently) do not lie and to ensure that they can continue to fall to the minimum possible level within the confines of human behaviour and activity we cannot be seen to rest on our laurels as an industry.
If the downward trend in accident numbers is to be brought back to the fore and continued into the future then something must be done to precipitate that improvement over and above what is currently being done – again the stagnation of the numbers shows that something is not currently working effectively. There will come a time when simple human failings will bring this decline to a halt and little else will make the downwards trend start again but unless robots take over the world we are probably not there yet.
Finally, the one thing that industry must not do is turn in on itself with a blame culture. It is all well and good to investigate accidents thoroughly and see where the fault may lie but to then simply sanction and change the rules to try to prevent it happening again does nothing for the poor sole involved in the first place. Prevention is better than cure and only by the right sort of training, a random nature of any follow up inspections and working together to formulate a better way of working all round that make the workforce as a whole see that what is being promoted is for their benefit and not just for the profit margin can we ever hope to crack this nut that is H&S. Having come from a background where H&S needs to be above the top of the pile of things to do in day (mining by the way if many years ago) it has always been apparent to me that health and safety is something that is achieved together and not just as individuals. We are not just responsible for ourselves but all those around us and those, in this multi-shift world, who follow.
Despite the forgoing, as mentioned earlier, ours appears to be one of the better ‘construction’ industry sectors according to the HSE stats that have been uncovered during the research into this article, let us not lose track of that fact. It would be better however if we were the ‘best’ and that can only be achieved by working together from the shop floor sweeper to the most senior of board members. Stay alert, stay safe and look out for all of your colleagues – even if it means pulling them up on any shortfall in their safety practices. They will probably thank you in the long run.
Article written by Ian Clarke
ian@nodigmedia.co.uk Thanks to all contributors to this feature.
10 drain TRADER | December 2016 |
www.draintraderltd.com
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