Directors slam safety claims culture
- Published: 23 July 2008 11:37
- Last Updated: 23 July 2008 12:14
An spiralling claims culture is one of the most significant issues facing health and safety in the construction sector, a roundtable of experts has told Construction News.
At a conference hosted by safety training firm RRC Training, the group of industry directors - from firms including May Gurney, Warings and concrete contractors John Doyle and PC Harrington - all agreed litigation had now become one of their most serious problems.
John Doyle Group health and safety director Terry Casbolt said: "If anyone tells you we do not have a claim culture they are not on this planet. It is no joke."
PC Harrington group health and safety director David Faulds said he knew of cases where workers would ask for a claim form on the first day of a job in preparation for an accident.
Mr Faulds said: "That is the reality. Most of my time is spent dealing with claims. You become suspicious of everyone."
They said it would remain a problem to combat because of the inability to share workers' records between firms.
Manchester Airport Group health and safety manager Ken Dodd added: "This is not just an industry problem. We live in a litigious society."
Across the industry, safety heads are also struggling to get the total number of UK workers injured every year down in line with Government targets.
In the new Strategy for Sustainable Construction, the government set the goal of a 10 per cent year-on-year reduction in the rate of fatal and major incidents.
But the table – which claimed larger firms were generally striding ahead of the ambitious objectives – said getting the message out to "one man band" builders would always prove challenging.
Mr Faulds said: "When you get a problem it is generally a one man band working for a client on a non-notifiable project, where the HSE does not even know that it's happening.
"You will never control it, you cannot. You have got these guys who you see in your street doing local domestic jobs, how do you control that?"
The directors also called for the further standardisation of safety measures to be explored by major contractors.
They agreed the majority of firms were all striving for "the same thing in different ways".
Mr Casbolt said: "Everyone has a different view on a particular work activity. That creates an enormous problem.
"We thought the idea was that the [now disband] Major Contractors Group would sit down and come up with a standard way of approaching safety in the industry. Then we would know where we were all going, and we could effectively have all the same documents. It has not worked that way.
"Collectively if they [major contractors] sat around at the table, and said, let us throw everything into the centre, and take one process out from that, then it would make the industry better."
WHAT THE ROUNDTABLE SAID:
On migrant workers…
The most significant safety issue with migrant workers on site is that their attitude regarding risk is different to UK standards, Morris and Spottiswood safety manager Willie Graham said.
Mr Graham said: "The biggest problem we have got on site is their perception of risk, because of their legislation at home, is different from ours.
"Our health and safety legislation is more stringent, but they do not think they are doing anything wrong because what they are doing is acceptable in their own country."
PC Harrington Group health and safety director Davie Faulds added: "It does depend where you come from; Polish, Lithuanian, Croatians, Serbians, they have different opinions on the law."
However the table played down language barriers as being a huge problem.
Mr Faulds said: "You have good, you have bad, and they do want to speak English when they want to - but as long as you know that you can work round it. You can put procedures in place, like after-work English lessons."
On legislation…
The roundtable generally criticised the Health and Safety (Offences) Bill, describing the increase in maximum fines for the Magistrates Court – which will rise from £5,000 to £20,000 – as "insignificant".
John Doyle Group safety director Terry Casbolt did state, however, the increased threat of custodial sentences would be a concern for firms.
He said: "People that in the past have not considered that they might be placed behind bars, even for a few weeks, will find it a bit more of a deterrent.
"Whether it will happen or not is another issue, but it will be a deterrent. Once a few highly publicised examples have been made, it will make a difference."
But Warings head of HSQE Brian Ormiston said the Corporate Manslaughter Act, and its push for publicity orders, would prove a bigger issue for firms into the future.
Mr Ormiston said: "The most effective punitive corporate measure is the publicity order - it hits the business share price and reputation, rather than a fine which can be paid."
