HSE anniversary – 41 years of Health and Safety

HSE anniversary - 41 years of Health and SafetyHSE anniversary – 41 years of Health and Safety – The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was founded on the 31 July 1974 and its headquarters are based in Bootle, Liverpool. The HSE are responsible for the regulation and enforcement of workplace health and safety. It is also responsible for research into occupational risks for England, Wales and Scotland.

It is 41 years since the introduction of the ‘Health and Safety at Work Act 1974’ and is seen as one of the best pieces of legislation on the statute books.

It has protected millions of British workers and has pushed hard to reduce incidents of occupational death, serious injury and ill health. Statistics published by the HSE show that since 1974 fatal injuries to employees have fallen 85% and non-fatal injuries have gone down by 77%.

Unfortunately accidents still happen

The Construction and building sector is high risk: the environment the workers have to work in is dangerous and they need to remember and apply their health and safety knowledge, skills and training at all times. There is always an element of danger present at any building or construction site, which can include heavy plant equipment, Scaffolding, Moving vehicles, Chemical storage and working machinery.

The HSE regularly publish prosecutions on its website and most investigations highlight a series of ‘failings’ which ultimately lead to a fatality.

The HSE regularly publish prosecutions on its website and most investigations highlight a series of ‘failings’ which ultimately can lead to a fatality. Everyone can make errors no matter how well trained and motivated they are. However in the workplace, the consequences of such human failure can be severe.

The Health and Safety Executive is highlighting new figures just released, which show that 15 people lost their lives while at work across the North West in 2013/14 and 9,432 suffered injury. That compares to 14 deaths and 9,401 injuries in the region the previous year.

Nationally, across Great Britain, there were 133 deaths at work in 2013/14, more than 79,500 injuries were formally reported and over 1.1 million people are estimated to have been made ill.

There were also 70 members of the public fatally injured in accidents connected to work in 2013/14

HSE anniversary – 41 years of Health and Safety

The latest figures show that those involved in construction, manufacturing and waste and recycling are most at risk today, with agriculture another industry where sustained improvement is needed. Local employers are being urged to review whether they can do more to protect their workforce.

HSE Chair Judith Hackitt added:

“For the last eight years we have consistently recorded one of the lowest rates of fatal injuries to workers among the leading industrial nations in Europe.

However, in HSE’s 40th year it is right that we acknowledge the progress we’ve made and look to a future of striving to bring down these statistics even further.”

Further resources can be found at:

HSE – Statistics on fatal injuries in the workplace in Great Britain 2014: Statistics on fatal injuries from the HSE

Liverpool Training Solutions – Injuries and Accidents at work, the Statistics: Injuries and Accidents at work, the Statistics