Construction Industry Costly Lifting Injuries

A recent survey of UK construction companies shows that 41.7% of their commercial vehicle buyers place health and safety as their last consideration when buying a van.

The survey, carried out on behalf of Razorback Vehicles Corporation Limited, also shows that 50% of these commercial vehicle buyers claim purchase cost to be the most important factor.

The results of the survey should set alarm bells ringing in the construction sector as, although making purchases based on price minimises short term expenditure, many companies are leaving themselves wide open to the risk of enormous costs derived from health and safety issues.

The survey indicates that construction companies do not realise that accidents at work can be very costly occurrences.

For instance, from 1995 to 1996, injuries caused by manual handling operations cost UK employers almost £35 million.

More recent figures show that from 2001 to 2002, the construction industry alone saw over 3,000 employees suffer injuries caused by carrying, lifting or handling, which resulted in at least a three-day absence.

When an employee is injured through such a workplace accident, the onus is on the employer to pay the injured worker's wages, the replacement worker's wages, any legal expenses, fines and court costs and the increase in insurance premiums.

Additionally, employers also have to account for overtime wages for loss of production and any loss of management time.

"All employers should account for all possible risks in the workplace, and then seek ways of eliminating or reducing these risks," said Alan Copley, General Manager of Operations at Razorback.

"A prime situation for employees being injured at work is whilst loading vehicles," he added.

Razorback's technology has addressed the health and safety risks associated with manual handling and loading operations by means of a light commercial vehicle with a load bed, which can be fully lowered to the ground.

This enables an operator to load and unload heavy cargo from ground level, therefore removing the necessity of heavy lifting.

In using a Razorback, employers not only reduce the health and safety risks, but they also make the employee's job a great deal easier," commented Copley.

"These extra benefits result in increased production and contribute to a happier work force," he concluded.

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