12 inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will carry out surprise inspections at construction sites in Manchester city centre on Tuesday 21 October
The HSE has announced a series of surprise inspections across Manchester construction sites, with a specific focus on the management of health and safety risks such as:
These surprise inspections in Manchester are part of 14,000 HSE is completing nationwide during the current financial year, with around 8,000 of those focusing on health.
HSE principal inspector Kevin Jones, one of those leading the team, said: “We’ll be checking that businesses have the right measures in place to ensure health risks are being managed and that workers are being kept safe.
“Manchester is home to some of the biggest construction projects in the country, however all sizes of sites will be inspected.
“By its nature, construction is a high hazard industry. It can be noisy and dusty, with people often working at height and around heavy machinery and vehicles.”
The construction industry faces a variety of dangers in the workplace
The construction industry has higher-than-average rates of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and injury rates. Previous HSE inspections around Great Britain have also found that three-quarters of noisy workplaces lacked essential knowledge on maintaining hearing protection equipment. Workers in skilled trades are also at particular risk of discovering and disturbing asbestos when working on properties built before 2000.
“These inspections are really important in HSE’s mission to protect people at work,” Kevin Jones added.
“As well as checking on companies, we want to work with them, explaining what they should be doing to get everything right.
“We hope that our presence in the city will reassure both the public and those working in the industry, that we will do all we can to ensure people go home safely at the end of the day.
“We need to see that there are good control measures in place and that the health and safety of workers is at the top of the agenda for everyone.
“We look forward to working with site managers and employers to ensure they are doing what’s required.”
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