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Sutherland (2007) Proposes A More Sophisticated Mechanism With Which To ...


Sutherland (2007) proposes a more sophisticated mechanism with which to measure the rates and types of dangers which workers are exposed to in the construction industry: ‘To properly examine the development of fatal injuries in the construction industry, or in any industry for that matter, it is necessary to compute a rate which is not merely per worker or per hour but the fatality rate per worker per hour - the exposure rate. Hours worked during the period under consideration show a rising trend from 1946 to a 1965 peak of 49.9 hours per average working week Sutherland E. (2007)'.
Arguably however, while it is important to measure the numbers of workers affected by accidents in the construction industry, given the level of consensus there is about that fact that accidents occur widely, it is questionable what such a complex approach might add to understanding the extrapolated problem. It is also the case, as Sutherland himself acknowledges that: ‘the point of statistics is, as Kuczynski states, to see what lies behind them..Sutherland E. (2007)'.
In terms of the enforcement of regulations in Ireland, the approach, like that in England is consultative rather than punitive (Health and Safety Executive (2003) 1-5) (HSE (2007) 1-3) (Ackroyd, S. and Fleetwood, S. (2000) Ch. 1) (Anson, M. (2003) 1-5). Figure 3 gives figures for agreed closures, and this suggests that even where the most fundamental difficulties with health and safety have been identified, there is a process of communication which both identifies the problem, but also communicates it to the stakeholder responsible.
Figure 3. Enforcement Action in the Construction Sector
Enforcement Action
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006

Inspections
6506
6097
4668
5069
6212
7613

Improvement Notice
191
228
148
169
119
271

Prohibition Notice
676
530
469
423
393
693

Improvement Direction
7
2
4
3
2
0

Section 39/71 Closure
3
4
2
1
2
2

Agreed Closure
55
36
34
25
21
33


Non fatal accidents in the construction industry
Another angle which needs to be looked at in understanding the relationship between accident statistics and the success of the CDM regulations is the rates of non fatal accidents which are occurring in the industry. Perhaps it is true that the most important focus should be on the prevention of death from preventable accidents and better heath and safety practices on building sites (Health and Safety Executive (2003) 1-5) (HSE (2007) 1-3) s(Anson, M. (2003) 1-5), however the statistics relating to non fatal accidents and their occurrence may give a more comprehensive insight into the problem of persisting accidents in spite of the regulation of health and safety practices in this area.

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