HSE highlights London 2012 construction project as an example to all

The Health and Safety Executive is using the construction project for the London 2012 Olympic Games as the standard for how to conduct health and safety, risk assessment, and incident reporting for the rest of the industry.

Through a joint collaboration between the Olympic Delivery Authority and the Health and Safety Executive, a no scapegoating approach was taken to risk management. What that meant was workers were encouraged to raise concerns and report issues without any fear of reprisals. In so doing, it allowed many more problems to be known about and dealt with as well as learning from such incidents.

The results of taking that approach has been made clear in a report released by the HSE this week. Typically the Accident Frequency Rate for the construction industry is 0.4 (calculated per 100,000 hours). For construction during the London 2012 preparations to June this year, the rate had dropped by nearly 60% to just 0.17. In real terms, during 62 million man hours of work only 114 injuries occurred and 8 dangerous occurrences recorded.

Stephen Williams, HSE's Director for London 2012, said:

"The construction industry has for many years been one of the most dangerous in which to earn a living. London 2012 is important because it shows it doesn't have to be that way. No matter what size your organisation, no matter what size your project, small changes in the way you operate can have a huge impact on the health and safety of your workers."

You can view both a summary and the full report on the HSE Research web page

Source: HSE