Demolition claims improved levels of safety; and yet the accidents keep on coming.
The advent of mechanisation has removed men from harm’s way; improved safety training makes demolition workers more risk-aware and risk-averse; and advance management systems have helped all but eliminate on-site accidents. As a result, the demolition industry is safer than ever.
Or so we are told.
And yet it seems that barely a day goes by in which we’re not forced to report on yet another accident, yet another on-site fatality.
It would be easy to dismiss such incidents because they happen “in a foreign country” where safety standards are almost certainly not as good as they are here, right? Well no, actually.
During the past few weeks, we have had fatalities and accidents in the US – the world’s largest demolition industry – and in our native UK, purportedly the most advanced demolition industry in the world. Stir in a few notable contributions from the Philippines, Australia and our ever-reliable cousins in China, and what we have is certainly not my idea of an increasingly safe industry.
There is, of course, little doubt that the industry is safer than it was 20, 30 or 50 years ago. Similarly, driving a car is safer than it was 50 years ago, thanks to the advent of seat belts.
But no-one involved in the manufacture of automobiles or in road safety has ever sat back, pointed at the seat belt, and said “problem solved!” And yet the demolition industry seems to have developed a self-congratulatory tone that shouts “things are better, less people are dying, our work here is done!”
In truth, we are just a few steps along a road to a completely safe industry that stretches to the horizon and beyond. And if you need any further proof, ask the families of those impacted by the accidents in the UK, US, Australia and the Philippines just how safe THEY think this industry has become.
