Minister for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen today launched a new initiative of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), ‘Safe System of Work Plan’ (SSWP) aimed at reducing injuries and deaths on construction sites.
The new initiative relies heavily on pictograms to explain and clarify hazards and controls, thereby creating a wordless document where safety can be communicated to all workers regardless of literacy or language skills. The Safe System of Work Plan aims to focus on those in the construction industry who are most at risk and empowering them to ensure that all necessary safety controls are in place prior to the commencement of planned work.
Launching the new initiative Minister Killeen said: “I welcome this innovative initiative from the HSA which I believe has the potential to make a major improvement to Construction Site Safety. The use of a universal language for health and safety on construction sites will I believe make a very positive impact in reducing injuries and deaths in this hugely important sector of our economy. The involvement of workers in the creation of this Safe System of Work Plan is particularly important and gives workers an ownership and responsibility to ensure that safety is at the heart of all their jobs on a construction site.”
“I want to compliment the HSA in it’s foresight and thought in bringing forward such an innovative approach to health and safety in an industry which is hazardous by nature to work in,”
The HSA highlights 225,000 people are now employed in the construction industry and with a growth of non-english speaking people within that workforce over the next few years, it is critical that clear and concise tools are devised to communicate the safety message to those workers.
The Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Authority, Tom Beegan said “We have worked hard to be innovative over the last couple of years to take into account the changing nature of the construction workplace and tackle issues such as literacy and language which impact directly on communication of safety initiatives. These new challenges have helped us to be more creative in finding solutions which we believe will help in saving lives and reducing injuries on site.”
According to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, over the last three years, 4,157 work permits have been issued to non-nationals to work in the construction sector. In 2004 alone, 1,213 permits were issued to nationals from 39 separate countries. Over 60% were issued to the nationals of three countries - Turkey (411), Poland (255) and Romania (120). Non-nationals make up less that 4% of those employed in this sector but present us with real language issues when it comes ensuring safety on site.
