Up to 60 per cent of the accidents on Europe’s construction sites and over 25 per cent of the fatalities could be avoided by more careful design, planning and procurement before construction starts, according to a new report published by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.

With over 820,000 accidents and 1,200 fatalities in the European Union's construction industry each year (1), this would cut the annual number of accidents by almost 500,000 and save over 300 lives.

Drawing on 16 case studies from 14 EU Member States, the report, Achieving Better Safety and Health in Construction, highlights different ways that architects, engineers and others involved in the construction industry could cut the risks that builders and maintenance staff face. Currently, the industry has one of the highest rates of accidents in Europe, nearly twice as high as the EU industry average, costing the region up to 75 billion euros in health charges, lost time and other expenses.

The report, which is complemented by a summary factsheet, analyses good practice at three different stages of the construction process: project preparation, including design and procurement; construction; and maintenance. Examples discussed include pre-drilling holes into steel girders to eliminate the risk of them slipping and falling when lifted; regular on-site risk assessments during the construction phase; and designing lighting that is easy to replace and maintain, reducing the risk of falls and other injuries.

Although the authors of the report acknowledge that it is difficult to identify ‘universal panaceas’ for an industry as diverse as construction, they pinpoint three key ingredients for a successful safety and health programme:

• Project preparation: Good standards of safety and health start with the decisions made by the client who procures the construction work. Sufficient time needs to be given for the planning process and consideration paid to how the design will be constructed.

• Managing the construction phase: To create a sense of shared ownership, all parties involved in the construction process, from employers and employees to sub-contractors and workers representative bodies, should be consulted about the safety and health plans and have say in the formulation of the plans. This approach was successfully applied during the construction of France’s new national sports stadium.

• Training and monitoring: All players need to be convinced about both the risks and the solutions, supported by suitable, cost-effective training. Risk assessments and monitoring should be conducted using a simple and easy-to-learn system. A methodology used in Finland is held up as a shining example.

Complementing the report, more examples of good practice, background information and links to related sites are available on a dedicated construction Web feature as well as on the European Week campaign site.

(1) These figures are the latest available from Eurostat and refer to the 15 Member States of the pre-enlargement EU.