Tony Cockerall from WorkSafe’s Construction Unit
talks about the high risk pre-Christmas period and asks the construction
industry to be extra vigilant during this time.
As a construction inspector and manager of inspectors, I have attended numerous construction sites where workers have died, been injured or there has been a near miss.
Generally, there are always a number of factors which have contribute to an incident occurring. In my experience a common thread across many incidents is workers rushing to get the job done.While I have heard numerous reasons given to why they needed rush to get the work finished, the end result is always the same taking short cuts.
Whether it’s to knock off early, meet the mates down the pub, start at a new site tomorrow or complete the project before the Christmas break; short cuts can have disastrous consequences.
The six weeks leading up to the Christmas is traditionally a high risk period for the construction industry so builders and sub-contractors need to be especially vigilant to ensure site safety.
Don’t let the pressure to get work completed cause you to take short cuts with safety otherwise everybody may not get to enjoy time with their family over Christmas.