Electrical industry accidents at all-time low

The electrical contracting industry has continued its excellent safety record with a further improvement in the reportable accident rate, contributing to a remarkable trend of continual improvement over the last 15 years. 

The 2016 JIB ‘Survey of Accidents’ report, based on statistics gathered by JIB and ECA members, shows that the 2016 accident incidence rate (AIR) for RIDDOR-reportable accidents is only 14% of what it was in 2001. 

Once again, there were no reported fatalities in the survey, which showed an industry AIR of 216.38 per 100,000 operatives, which compares to the 2001 figure of 1600/100,000. Of the accidents that occurred in 2016, falls were reported as the most prevalent type of serious injury. 

According to Paul Reeve, who leads ECA’s health and safety activity: “We’ll be taking a further look at falls from height in particular but the number and, more importantly, the rate of reportable accidents among JIB members has fallen to its lowest ever. This is a great achievement, and it’s the result of an industry team effort from ECA, Unite, member companies and employees. The rate of improvement since 2001 is around double that seen in the wider construction industry.“ 

To read the Survey of Accidents at Work report visit www.jib.org.uk/jib-accident-survey.