A series of serious accidents in the past week has highlighted the need to maintain focus on site safety
The signs of spring are here in abundance for the sector this week - and not just for those enjoying a glass of wine or two .
Growth in the UK commercial sector has hit a 10-year high, according to Savills; tender prices are forecast to jump 30% over the next five years; and overseas investors are lining up to pump over the next decade.
All of this is adding to the increasingly upbeat economic mood in a sector that has seen a return to growth of 1.3% over 2013, and is hopeful of further opportunity with a pre-election boost to capital spending courtesy of George Osborne in next week’s Budget.
In contrast to this brightening picture were the dark headlines that blighted the industry over the past few days due to three major safety failings. First, news broke of the last Friday morning. Later that day, a worker was taken to hospital after on a Balfour Beatty site in London’s Docklands. Finally, on Wednesday, Clancy Docwra confirmed the .
Construction has an unacceptable record for deaths and injuries, despite improvements
Construction still has an unacceptable record for deaths and major injuries among its workforce, despite improvements over the last decade that have seen the rate of fatal injuries fall significantly to 1.9 per 100,000 workers in 2012/13.
There were 39 fatalities in the sector in 2012/13, when construction accounted for 27% of fatal injuries and 10% of major injuries to employees across all sectors.
The causes and circums