Eight percent rise in site deaths. Now, back to the day job.
It is just over two weeks since I described the modern demolition worker as expendable. In typical industry fashion, this was greeted with private messages of congratulations on a point well made; private condemnation from those for whom, seemingly, industry image is of far greater import; and a great tumbleweed of silence from the industry at large.
And now – quite possibly to a similar welcome – the UK’s Health and Safety Executive has released its annual site death statistics (the fact that this requires an annual announcement is surely indicative of the depth of the issue).
Between construction and demolition, we managed to snuff out the lives of 42 workers last year. For some decent-sized and well-respected demolition companies, that figure would represent an entire workforce.
Maybe if that was the case, the reaction would be different. There would be an outpouring of grief and support; calls for systemic change; and a root and branch overhaul of the training regime that continues to send men (and women) to their deaths.
That, sadly, is not the case. These deaths are spread over a wide geographic area; across a 12-month time period. They are occasional blips and anomalies. And then there’s the whole “demolition stats lumped in with construction” chestnut that is bandied about ad infinitum about this time of year as if that makes demolition seem like a lavender-scented embrace from a kindly aunt.
However, the industry should be careful what it wishes for as any separation of demolition and construction site death stats would surely cast an ugly shadow upon this industry of ours. Any site death is tragic, avoidable and sad. But one death out of the million plus people employed within construction is such a tiny percentage that it’s on a par with the number of people killed each year by their own trousers. One death out of the 10,000 or so employed within demolition is quite another matter; marking the sector as one of the most dangerous per number of employees in industry. Let us not forget that the two deaths that occurred at last week’s Glastonbury music festival made front page news.
Unfortunately and short of some kind of divine intervention – like the Glastonbury festival – we will be back here again next year, lamenting further site deaths and temporarily scratching our collective beards over how this keeps happening.
If you actually want to KNOW why this keeps happening, click here.
