While the COVID-19 pandemic served as a crucial reminder of the importance of overall health and safety practices in the workplace, construction industry workers have always faced a relatively high level of risk when carrying out their everyday jobs. Construction business owners must take the necessary steps to keep their employees safe and ensure that their sites are as risk-free as possible, but which specific construction jobs are regarded as the most dangerous? 

Accident statistics: Work-related deaths in the UK have fallen significantly over the years, but it’s still crucial to reduce the risk of accidents taking place in the workplace. Of the 123 UK employees fatally injured in an accident at work in 2021/2022, the largest share is composed of construction workers (30) – this makes the construction industry the most potentially deadly of all. The most common fatal accident overall is associated with falling from a height (29) – in the construction industry, falling from a height was associated with 47% of all accidents in the workplace in the period 2019/2020. This leading accident is followed by being struck by a vehicle (23) and being struck by a moving object (21), both real risks for building site workers. Other common causes of death in the UK workplace include coming into contact with moving machinery (15) and being trapped by a collapsed or overturned object (14) – given the fact that many labourers and construction workers of every ilk regularly deal with heavy machinery and materials, the likelihood of these accidents occurring on-site is relatively high. Because of these risks, the most dangerous construction job titles of all include roofers, heavy vehicle mechanics, crane operators and mining machine operators.       

The importance of health and safety: In the UK today, employers are legally obliged to abide by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and ensure that their workers and customers are kept safe in the place of business. While this may be a legal necessity, business owners also have a moral responsibility to reduce risk, especially if their employees work in high-risk roles and environments. Failing to conduct risk assessments and promote good health and safety practices at work could see employees filing for a no-win no fee compensation claim or even becoming involved in a  fatal workplace accident.

How technology helps to reduce accidents: The construction industry has always made use of emerging disruptive tech, but in recent years the sector has been transformed by a range of new technologies including Building Information Modelling (BIM), digital monitoring, drones and 5G. In particular, the use of drones has reduced the risk of accidents when inspecting sites or carrying out work at height, whereas the use of 3D printing has made the physical process of construction much quicker, easier and safer.