A month of unannounced inspection visits to construction sites across Britain have found that a worrying 40% of sites are failing to sufficiently protect workers.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are urging the construction industry to take the necessary action and ensure basic health and safety measures are in place.
After visits from 22 September to 17 October 2014 at 1,748 sites, the HSE found one in five sites were so poor, formal enforcement was required. Some of these issues could have been easily solved with a little more planning and management.
The main aim behind these visits was to improve health risks and 35% of the notices served were for problems such as management of asbestos, failure to control exposure to harmful dusts, noise and vibration and insufficient welfare.
A reoccurring problem was also highlighted again, with 42% of all enforcement notices being issued for failure to provide basic safety measures for people working at height.
A sum total of 313 prohibition notices and 235 improvement notices were issued.
Philip White, the HSE’s Chief of Construction commented: "These results show that whilst the majority of employers in the refurbishment sector are getting it right, a significant part of the industry is seriously failing its workers."
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