Posted By Jason Gould
I keep hearing rumours that the Irish construction Industry is bothe better paid and more safety concious.

Is this just an urban Myth where scaffolders dont work without harnesses etc?

Is Ireland setting a better example?

What are they doing right?

Just wanted some confirmation as the local pub is full of guys stating this.

I live in Manchester and also womdered if geographical locations reflect safety in general i.e. inland and coastal, North and South

Posted By Karen Todd
Hello Jason,

I work in N. Ireland. My last job was as a H&S consultant and I did a lot of construction site inspections, the reports that I wrote and photos were then sent to our clients.

I don't think that H&S is any better in Ireland. I have seen a wide range of sites, some very good, some a disgrace.

I think a lot depends on the site foreman. One company in particular had about a dozen foremen and I got to know them all quite well. There was one foreman and every site of his that I went to was excellent, I could hardly find anything negative to write about (obviously positive comments were passed on too).

There were some other foremen whose sites were always a total disaster. So bad, that I would not entertain the thought of having them do work for me.

I have seen many sites, some bloody stupid and some downright scary.

I stopped all work on a site one time because the crane was in an area that had been defined as a danger area, i.e. crane was not to be in there under any circumstances. The crane was meant to operate in the "safe area" under a height restriction but I found it in the danger area with the jib way above the safe area height restriction. Work was stopped until after a site meeting that afternoon.

Also, when I bring out the digital camera, everyone scarpers. Not sure whether they don't want to be photographed working unsafely or whether they are on the dole, or both!

As people got to recognise me and my car, some stopped work immediately I landed on site or refused to work while I was there. Some automatically went to vans and donned hard hats, others decided to take a long tea break until I had gone!

Some people assumed I was from HSE and started telling me about accidents that they'd had, showing me injuries/scars and asking me for my opinion.

I never had an outright threat but have felt quite anxious on occasion. I think being a woman helped (once people realised I did know what I was talking about), because I felt that it would be less likely for them to grab me by the neck and throw me off the site!

The CSR card scheme has taken off here (is it CSCS in UK and Safe Pass in ROI?) although it isn't essential for all sites. I did the CITBs course so I could do the 1 day H&S awareness course for it. Some people on the courses amazed at what were legal minimum requirements under Construction HSW Regs!

We have a long way to go and there is always room for improvement.

Regards,
Karen

Posted By John Murphy
I think the message from the HSA is a much clearer one.


Press relaese dated 17 July 2003

Results of the Health and Safety Authority nationwide construction blitz, which was the first aspect of its "Don't Fall for It" campaign, were published today, showing a majority of sites visited not to be compliant with Construction Safety Regulations. Just a minority of the sites were in full or even broad compliance.

A total of 252 construction inspections were carried out during the campaign in which a total of 201 sites were visited.

Inspectors for the Health and Safety Authority issued a total of 192 enforcement actions over the course of the two-week blitz. A second blitz will be initiated by the Authority in September.

One positive finding of the report is that Site Safety Representatives were present on 87% of sites with more than 20 workers, ie those sites for which there is a legal requirement for such a representative to be in place.

Clients had appointed Project Supervisors as required by the Construction Regulations for only half of the sites inspected. The situation was worst for smaller sites particularly those with 1-5 workers, where only 30% were in compliance. Larger sites were much better in this regard with 95% of those with 21 to 50 workers and 100% of those with more than 50 workers having duty holders appointed.

The key areas involving people working at heights, such as roofwork and scaffolding, were the worst offenders.

HSA Senior Inspector, Jim Heffernan commented:

"The fact that only a minority of sites visited were found to be fully or even broadly compliant is extremely disturbing. Again we see that the areas which involve working at a height are the biggest offenders, with only an average of 21% in full or broad compliance. Almost half of all deaths in construction last year involved falls from heights. We will prioritise this high risk area throughout this campaign which will continue into 2004, when construction safety will be the focus of European Safety Week."

"The results have highlighted a massive and worrying discrepancy between small and large construction companies in safety management arrangements. The fact that only a minority of smaller sites have appointed project supervisors, is a terrible indictment of these small operations and we will redouble our efforts to ensure full compliance going forward."

When we stop killing people at work may be an appropriate time judge who has acheived the higher standard of health and safety. In the meantime the message from the HSA very much echoes that of the HSE.

Just a view!!

John

Posted By Jason Gould
Thanks all for your comments. They were very usefull. I had a belly laugh at the power a digital camera can have on a site. On a serious note I am definetly going to have to check on current cetification schemes, if anyone has any docs describing these and does not mind sharing, I would appreciate a copy.

Once again thanks all

Jason (buying a digital camera next week, a big shiny one that no one can miss)

I remember doing a gutting of a large building with some blokes from Salford. I was 26 they were 35-50. Some bloke turned up with a hard hat and camera (turned out to be desighner) When I announced his arrival and the others spotted the camera the building completely cleared. (Have you ever seen a 60 year old do 100 mtrs in 12 seconds). I have.