Safety campaign is launched to cut health risks at work

Figures released by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) showed that 23 people died in workplace accidents in Yorkshire in the financial year 2009/2010, compared with 24 in the previous year. Altogether, there were 2,714 major injuries recorded at Yorkshire workplaces last year, down from 2,946 in 2008/09.

David Fryer, who is in charge of the Leeds office of Heath Lambert, one of Britain’s biggest firms of insurance brokers, said risk management had come under closer scrutiny because of the challenging economic climate. He said an external auditing team could often help firms to improve their health and safety procedures.

He said: “There has been a reduction in the number of workplace deaths, but one death is still one death too many. Often it’s a case of bringing in a team of risk managers. They can protect the business, protect the staff and protect the management. A lot of companies have got a grasp of health and safety issues, but there are still businesses out there that are simply not doing enough to reduce risk.

“If a chef cuts his finger 20 times, the law of averages says he’s going to lose his finger at some stage. If we recognise that companies are going to have incidents, then we have got to try to reduce them for the benefit of the business and the staff.”

The Health & Safety Executive has launched a Safe & Sound at Work campaign to encourage small businesses to take further steps to protect their staff.

According to the HSE, collaboration with staff helps firms to manage health and safety more effectively. The HSE also recently ran a Myth of the Month campaign, which aimed to dispel harmful myths about health and safety.

The HSE website said: “During the last four years we’ve debunked some truly ridiculous misrepresentations of health and safety, including the banning of conkers.

“We’ve scotched scare stories about excessive safety signs, rebutted rumours about onerous risk assessments and kicked back at claims that kids need to be wrapped in cotton wool.

“This trivialisation concerns us. It confuses businesses about their responsibilities and workers about their rights.”

For more information, go to www.hse.gov.uk