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   Salford construction sites fail safety inspections
Nearly a third of the construction sites visited in Salford last week failed safety inspections. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors carried out checks at 45 sites in the city during two days of intensive inspections. They issued a total of 21 enforcement notices at 14 sites, either stopping work immediately or requiring improvements to be made. Some construction companies may also face being prosecuted. The issues covered by the enforcement notices included unsafe work being carried out at height, dust, unsafe electrics and the general state of sites. Polly Tomlinson, HSE’s Principal Inspector for Construction in Greater Manchester, said: “More than two thirds of the sites our inspectors visited in Salford had good health and safety procedures in place. But the other 14 sites are letting the rest of the industry down and putting workers’ lives at risk. “Hundreds of construction workers are seriously injured every year because companies don’t treat the safety of their employees as a priority. “We will continue to make unannounced visits to sites, and take enforcement action when necessary, until the message gets across. It simply isn’t worth taking risks to try and save money.” Newly released figures from HSE show there were 52 serious injuries on construction sites in Salford last year. The intensive inspections in Greater Manchester and Warrington on 10 and 11 March took place as part of a month-long initiative aimed at stopping dangerous practices on building sites across Great Britain. HSE wants to raise awareness of construction site risks to prevent deaths and injuries in the future. Construction is one of Britain’s most dangerous industries, with five deaths and 1,339 serious injuries in the North West during 2008/9. The national inspection initiative is focusing on refurbishment, including roofing work. Inspectors are making unannounced visits to ensure that sites are managing work at height safely and that sites are in good order. Last year, inspectors visited 274 sites across the region and issued 97 enforcement notices during a similar month-long initiative. More information on construction safety is available at www.hse.gov.uk/construction. Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
