20th August 2005, 06:46 PM
Let's try not to panic about all this. Yes of course H&S must be taken seriously, but I think PMP was just trying to put it all into proportion. 71 deaths is 71 too many but construction one of (if not the) biggest employers in the UK and 71 is a big improvement on the position 20 odd years ago. While many archaeological "sites" are on actual working construciton sites many are not, and a construction site is many times more dangerous than an archaeological site. For a start there are often many large yellow machines, some moving around a lot, including backwards, and lots of things for you to fall off or to fall on you, and of course the use of hand held machinery and large power tools, welding kit and so on.
H&S is something to be aware of, not obsessed with. That awareness is the key to safety. Risk assessments are essential but are not the be-all and end-all: they are only any use if they are taken seriously by the writer. Many are inevitably the previous site's with the title changed.
Today, Bradford. Tomorrow, well, Bradford probably.
H&S is something to be aware of, not obsessed with. That awareness is the key to safety. Risk assessments are essential but are not the be-all and end-all: they are only any use if they are taken seriously by the writer. Many are inevitably the previous site's with the title changed.
Today, Bradford. Tomorrow, well, Bradford probably.