Unacceptable conditions and dangerous practices were found at nearly half of the 1,748 repair and refurbishment sites visited by HSE inspectors, with 1 in 5 sites so poor, formal enforcement action was required. The focus of the initiative was on health risks and 35 per cent of the notices served were for issues such as management of asbestos, failure to control exposure to harmful dusts, noise and vibration, and insufficient welfare.

The HSE is urging construction site bosses to include noise and vibration reduction solutions in their site planning, and to be more forward thinking when it comes to preventing exposure to dust particles to protect workers. HSE’s Chief of Construction Philip White said: “These results show that whilst the majority of employers in the refurbishment sector are getting it right, a significant part of the industry is seriously failing its workers. It is just not acceptable that Inspectors had to order work to stop immediately on over 200 occasions because of dangerous practices. “We also find health is often overlooked as its implications are not immediately visible, however the effects of uncontrolled exposure to deadly dusts such as asbestos and silica can be irreversible. We urge industry to ensure the most basic of measures such as use of protective equipment and dust suppression methods are put in place to help protect the future health of workers.”

Peter Wilson, technical director at Echo Barrier added: “The harmful effects of noise and vibration on employees is becoming a higher priority when it comes to health and safety on a construction site. Not only do our barriers provide a cost effective and quick to install solution to noise and vibration, they also restrict the amount of dust that can escape from a building site and so reduce the danger to those living and working nearby. “We are working hard to educate the sector about the dangers of exposure to excessive noise and vibrations and constantly strive to improve our product offering so that there are effective solutions out there for the industry to use in protecting their workers.