The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has recently released provisional data showing that the number of workers killed in Britain for the year April 2010 to March 2011, which shows the number of workers killed was 171, an increase on the previous year, when 147 died which at the time was the lowest number on record.
Judith Hackitt, the HSE Chair, said
“The increase in the number of deaths in the last year is disappointing, after an all time low last year. However, we must remember that we still have one of the lowest rates of fatal injury anywhere in Europe.
“The fact that 171 people failed to come home from work to their loved ones last year reminds us all of what we are here to do. It is a stark reminder of the need to ensure that health and safety remains focused on the real risks, which exist in workplaces not on trivia and pointless paperwork.
“We all have a role to play – employers, employees and regulators – and leadership is fundamental to maintaining and improving our performance even further. In a world of work which is constantly changing, we must all continue to review what we do and how we do it and strive to become even more effective at managing risks which cost lives.”
The figures also show the rate of fatal injuries in several of the key industrial sectors:
Full data and break down can be found at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/fatalinjuries.htm
The comments made by the chair of the HSE echo the message we continually pass, i.e. that everyone deserves to arrive home in one piece at the end of each day. This is not really to much to ask, so why do we fail?
Cultural issues place peer pressure on individuals to speed up and of course there is the added pressure of ‘production being king’ when in fact no job is that important that we should take risks with people’s Health & Safety.
Our course Achieving Behavioural Change aims to identify to companies the important of getting culture correct in any organisation.
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