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The drop has been attributed to the adoption of best-practices in the workforce. Shutterstock/Sorn340 Images

40% drop in the number of site accidents in the construction industry this year

There have been 166 incidents recorded up to June 2019 – two of which were fatal.

THERE HAS BEEN a 40% drop in the number of accidents in the construction industry in 2019, data from the Health Safety Authority shows.

There have been 166 incidents recorded up to June 2019 – two of which were fatal – compared to 301 incidents recorded in the same period in 2018 – three of which were fatal.

Industry staff have attributed the decline in incidents to the adoption of behavioural, technological and psychological best-practices.

Dermot Carey, director of safety and training at the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) said the aim is to ensure there are no fatalities in any workplace.

“The construction industry is striving to make 2019 the year with the lowest recorded work fatalities,” he said.

“Any fatality is one too many. Every incident and fatality is poured over by construction companies to elicit learnings that are shared across the industry to improve safety.

“Signs, warnings, toolbox talks, even accident re-enactments with actors are used to constantly remind workers of the importance of safety.”

The CIF is launching the construction safety week 2019, running from the 21 to 25 October, when all 47,000 construction companies in the country will be invited to participate in safety events. 

Overall, the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector has had the most fatalities, with 12 people dying and 37 others injured in the first six months of the year. 

There were five fatalities in transportation and storage, three fatalities in manufacturing, one in wholesale, retail, repair of motor vehicles sector, and one in water supply, sewerage, and waste management activities. 

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    Mute Bob Frapples
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    Jul 19th 2019, 9:57 AM

    “Recorded” being the key word in this story. I’m on a large site and see first hand how these figures can easily be manipulated. People who have suffered injuries being pressurised to come back to work the next day just to sit on a chair and do nothing so it isn’t recorded as a lost time incident.

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    Mute Jonathan Daly
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    Jul 19th 2019, 10:03 AM

    @Bob Frapples: 100% agree. The sanctions are too heavy by the HSA, e.g combing sites looking for more problems. So in turn tbe builder pays the injured party to return to site within the 3 day rule and just click in fir an hour.

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    Mute Donwon999
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    Jul 19th 2019, 10:30 AM

    @Bob Frapples: none the less 40% is a huge improvement. I hope site safety is improving however you should see some of the morons on the project I work on its surprising they can even stand up there so unaware of the risks they take.

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    Mute An bhearna
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    Jul 19th 2019, 12:15 PM

    @Jonathan Daly: The sanctions are too heavy ?? Not heavy enough you mean ! No one should be injured or killed as part of their days work. If directors of these companies were sent to prison instead of being fined you’d see the accident rate plummet even more

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    Mute Jonathan Daly
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    Jul 19th 2019, 4:20 PM

    @An bhearna: i fully agree. What i meant was, when the HSA arrive on site after an accident has been reported they go through the site with a finecomb. So instead of reporting it, they get the employee to return to site within the 3 working day rule. My wrong. There is just not enough HSA inspectors in the country for the amount of sites there is.

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    Mute Karllye kripton
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    Jul 19th 2019, 4:58 PM

    @Jonathan Daly: wtf is the 3 day rule , if your hurt you should not be going back in 3 days or sue your boss if they make you

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    Mute Brian Reilly
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    Jul 20th 2019, 7:58 AM

    @Karllye kripton: if your out if work for more than 3 consecutive working days it’s a reportable accident to the HSA.

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    Mute Radioska
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    Jul 19th 2019, 10:35 AM

    25 years working in construction. Great to see the reduced accident rates. Please bring back A Frame ladders as the podium ones you have to use are more dangerous, heavier and unusable and lead to more accidents with your back, fingers crushed, over stretching, it’s a really stupid move applied by safety offices in an office with no practical knowledge of site practice. Thanks

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    Mute Darren
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    Jul 19th 2019, 10:44 AM

    @Radioska: Cant beat the old wooden A frames those podiums would cause a risk trying to exit a building in the event of a fire etc.

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    Mute sean
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    Jul 19th 2019, 10:47 AM

    @Radioska: As one of those safety men I fully agree but youll find those rules are mainly coming from insurance companies and certification companies. Some of the rules I need to enforce are unbearable. Try remember that next time you’re chatting with safety officer. He or she probably agrees with you but is paid to implement the company rules

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    Mute James Wormold
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    Jul 19th 2019, 9:39 AM

    Solely down to Mr Burns making Homer the safety officer.

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    Mute Arya
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    Jul 19th 2019, 9:40 AM

    @James Wormold: Ha!

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    Mute Val Miggin
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    Jul 19th 2019, 9:36 AM

    Anywhere here remember sites in the 70s and 80s? Lucky to make it out alive at the end of a day. Labouring in London in the 1990s, 6 Irish fellas loaded into a van on cricklewood broadway and could be driven to any site in London. Back breaking work and all cash in hand. Great days!

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    Mute James Wormold
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    Jul 19th 2019, 9:41 AM

    @Val Miggin: them the days. Lads, instead of readybrek, used to eat wet concrete for breakfast and skull 6 pints for lunch

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    Mute shellakybooky
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    Jul 19th 2019, 9:45 AM

    @Val Miggin: when men were men and sheep were scared

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    Mute Doire
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    Jul 19th 2019, 10:27 AM

    @Val Miggin: I would doubt you remember 70s either Val if your saying great days. Nothing great about them. Irish were not treated well.

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    Mute shellakybooky
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    Jul 19th 2019, 10:31 AM

    @Doire: here comes paddy for a 5 pound day. 4 for drink and 1 for his stay.

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    Mute Adrian
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    Jul 19th 2019, 11:25 AM

    @Val Miggin: remember the days being sent to the shop for stripy paint, a replacement bubble for the spirit level, and a skirting board ladder!

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    Mute shellakybooky
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    Jul 19th 2019, 11:43 AM

    @Adrian: that still goes on.. if your a sucker enough to fall for it.. now where did I leave those sky hooks

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    Mute Craic_a_tower
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    Jul 19th 2019, 9:58 AM

    What I find strange is when visiting other european countries and you see a construction site. No where near the restriction we have here. Always wondered what injury rate is in those countries. No hard hats,no high vis with them climbing on the outside of scaffolding.

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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Jul 19th 2019, 10:01 AM

    @Craic_a_tower: And then theres Qatar….building the world cup stadiums

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    Mute Michael Kavanagh
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    Jul 19th 2019, 10:21 AM

    @Craic_a_tower:
    Horrific in the main.

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    Mute Doire
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    Jul 19th 2019, 10:30 AM

    @Paul Furey: I give you a wee stat about Qatar!!! If you were to have a minutes silence for every person who died building Stadiums or Infrastructure for world cup the first 44 matchs would be played in complete silence.

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    Mute Craic_a_tower
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    Jul 19th 2019, 11:05 AM

    @Doire: And people still watched the games rather than boycott them due to that. People literally died so people could watch football. Disgusting.

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    Mute Doire
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    Jul 19th 2019, 11:34 AM

    @Craic_a_tower: dont know what boycotting the games would do to be fair. I would have a bigger issue with the reason for sending it there in first place. Its not the rich and famous who work in these stadiums or clean them and maintain them by boycotting they then suffer to.

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    Mute shellakybooky
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    Jul 19th 2019, 11:47 AM

    @Doire: That’s crazy! Is that true?

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    Mute Craic_a_tower
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    Jul 19th 2019, 11:58 AM

    @Doire: if there had been a boycott they wouldn’t do it again. That includes the corruption in location selection.

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    Mute Doire
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    Jul 19th 2019, 12:54 PM

    @shellakybooky: its was on a health and safety leaflet I recieved about 2 months back. How accurate i dont know

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    Mute Adrian
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    Jul 19th 2019, 11:25 AM

    There is probably a drop in the number of construction sites too.

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    Mute Michael Kavanagh
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    Jul 19th 2019, 11:53 AM

    @Adrian:
    No.
    Construction, large, medium and small scale, is fairly bouyant at the moment.

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    Mute Candace
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    Jul 19th 2019, 4:52 PM

    ..

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