NASC launches annual safety report

The NASC has launched its 2016 Safety Report at the Health & Safety Event being held in the UK this week.

The annual NASC Safety Report documents and analyses accident and injury statistics for all 199 NASC full contracting member companies in 2015 – covering 14,954 scaffolding operatives, which constitutes a major proportion of the UK’s total scaffolding workforce.

In addition to its launch on the NASC stand at the event, running 22-24 March, the NASC 2016 a digital PDF version of is available to view online and hard copies of the report will be sent to NASC member and related companies.

All 199 NASC full contracting members are required to submit a completed annual accident return as a requirement of membership, and the NASC Safety Report is based on data generated by this exercise. It features:

In line with current HSE reporting procedures, the NASC 2016 Safety Report reports on seven day incidents only (as it is did in 2014 and 2015). As such, the latest report appears to show a marked reduction in incidents.

Positively, figures included in the 2016 report show another zero for fatal accidents within the membership, there were no reported falls from a scaffold/working platform where the fall was arrested by a lanyard/harness, and falls from scaffolds/working platforms showed a decrease of 44% in 2015 from 9 to 5 incidents, in addition falls from ladders also decreased.

However, as per the trend of the previous 12 years, the major cause of injury to scaffolders during 2015 continues to be Slips, Trips and Falls (STF) on the same level, amounting to just over 34% of all injuries reported this year.

The NASC Health and Safety Committee is committed to looking at ways of reducing the amount of slips, trips and falls – starting with the publication of a new Safety Guidance note later this year; SG32:16 ‘Management of Slips,Trips and Falls.’

The report also states, as in previous years, that the highest number of accidents occurred in the 21-30 age group amounting to 42 accidents, or 44% and it was scaffolders who reported the greatest number of incidents, also at 44%, compared to other scaffold sector jobs, like labourers and managers.

NASC president, Alan Lilley said, “The NASC continues to produce this most detailed and honest breakdown of the incidents that occur annually within the membership of the confederation. The information it contains is used to benchmark our members against the wider industry and to ensure that our safety and technical guidance remains good practice and fit for purpose within the scaffolding and access sectors.

“As ever, we must continue to strive for zero incidents throughout the scaffolding and access industry. And I am confident that through greater regulation on the part of the confederation future issues of this well received annual Safety Report will show further reductions in reported incidents within our membership.”

To obtain a digital PDF copy of the NASC 2016 Safety Report please visit the new website Safety Report section here or contact NASC directly for a hard copy.