Industrial accidents have decreased by 90 percent since 2001

The latest JIB Survey of Accidents at Work has shown that the 2017 accident incidence rate (AIR) for reportable accidents is less than 10% of what it was in 2001. This highly impressive statistic highlights the continuing commitment from electrical contractors to reduce accidents in the workplace, following the JIB, ECA and Unite the Union’s major industry-wide ‘ZAP’ safety initiative which launched 17 years ago.

JIB and ECA members contributed to the survey, which covered a sample size of almost 12,000 operatives. Of the 17 reportable injuries, there were no fatalities and none of the injuries were due to contact with electricity. However, 11 were the result of falls or trips at height or at ground level.

According to Paul Reeve, ECA’s Director responsible for health and safety: “These excellent safety statistics are the lowest ever recorded in our industry. Even so, it’s clear that accidents linked to work at height and housekeeping remain the main site safety issues. 

"ECA, working with industry partners and Unite, is currently chairing a working group (part of HSE’s recently-constituted ‘Managing Risk Well’ Group) that aims to reinvigorate concise, good practice advice on work at height. We aim to produce practical outputs that will help designers, clients, managers, supervisors and operatives to tackle the causes of this persistent category of site accident.”

Click here to read the Survey of Accidents at Work Report