Don't blame the HSE
From Kevin Myers
Sir: Gus Alexander wonders whether too much Health and Safety is bad for you (Arts, 13/20 December 2003) and cites the papertrail response by the construction industry to the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994 as an example. I share his concern that these regulations have, in too many cases, produced a mountain of 'cover my ass' paperwork. This has not been at the
instigation of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) but reflects the industry's tendency to seek to offload rather than manage the risks it creates. Our guidance emphasises our aversion to paperwork that does not lead to improved management of risk.
I also agree that good designers do consider 'the manner in which their creations are put together'. However, most designers receive little training on how they can best design out risk. Recent work within HSE and independently commissioned research has found that many designers fail to consider how their designs could be safely constructed, maintained, cleaned or demolished. In the last five years there have been 402 deaths, 23,488 major injuries and countless more occupational health problems sustained at work by construction workers. The issue is not whether too much safety is bad, but is about getting safety right by managing foreseeable risks in a proportionate way.
The article lays a number of other issues at the door of HSE. It is fashionable, in some quarters, to blame HSE for anything that can be badged as health and safety. I should point out that HSE's remit does not include standards for balustrades, ferries. Routemaster buses, domestic fire safety, the design of domestic electrical installations or the installation and testing of fire alarms.
Kevin Myers
Chief Inspector for Construction, HSE, London
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