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The Question Of Whether Or Not The Overall Health And Safety Provisions ...


The question of whether or not the overall health and safety provisions within the construction industry have been affected positively by the CDM regulations will be addressed and evaluated, as another principal aim of the project. This will naturally involve a certain degree of discussion, and the evaluation of subjective viewpoints. The writer will attempt to communicate the viewpoints gathered through primary research as objectively as possible, however the thrust of the project will be the writer's viewpoint as it has been affected or influenced by the research done and gathered.
The methodology section will address the issue of which methodology will be the most appropriate, and suitable for the project itself, in terms of achieving the stated aims which have been
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW PART ONE
Accident statistics relating to the construction industry 1996-2006
The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) have published statistics relating to the rates of accidents which have occurred in the construction industry in recent years. During the year 2005-2006, the number of fatal accidents in the construction industry fell by 14% (from 69 fatalities to 42) (HSC, 2007 (7)). However, those involved in the industry as self-employed construction workers have seen a rise in fatalities with this figure rising from 14 deaths to 17 deaths in 2006 (HSC, 2007 (7)).
However, the problem with statistics is that they can misrepresent the real picture. It would seem an unambiguous task to quantify the amounts of accidents which occur within any given industry.
The problem may be particularly pertinent in the climate of globilisation, where there may be more of an influx of potentially unregistered workers, or even workers who are not legally entitled to be in the country (Mountjoy, A.B. (1975) 10) (Morris, P.W.G. and Hough, G.H. (1987) 1-6) (Niblock, T. (2001) 1-2) (Randall, E. (2000) 3-5) (Roberts, I. and Springer, B. (2001) Ch. 2-3). This is already a difficulty with the various regulations which limit the employment available to EU accession countries at present.
In terms of both self-employed construction workers and employed construction workers, the incidences of falls from a height accounted for approximately 50% of the fatalities relating to the construction industry, which have been recorded between the period 1996 to 2006 (HSC, 2007 (7)). Falls from a height continue to be the most common cause of industrial accident within the construction industry (HSC, 2007 (7)).
Other forms of industrial accident which commonly account for fatal deaths include being hit by a moving or a falling object, being hit by a moving vehicle, and being trapped by objects which collapse or overturn (HSC, 2007 (7)). In terms of the fatal injuries sustained to workers across industries; 28% of the fatalities which occur, occur within the construction industry (HSC, 2007 (7)).


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