Fatal refurb: addressing refurbishment鈥檚 poor safety record

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Refurbishment is an increasingly popular alternative to new build, but what can be done about its particularly poor safety record?

Figures published by the Health and Safety Executive last month for the construction sector make for sobering reading. During 2008/09 the industry had the third highest rate of fatal accidents, just behind agriculture and the extractive industries. Fifty-three fatalities were recorded, that鈥檚 2.5 for every 100,000 workers.

However, there is some cause for optimism. The rate has dropped by more than a third over the past three years and the figure for 2008/09 is less than half that recorded at the beginning of the millennium. Philip White, head of construction at the HSE, says there has been a continuing downward trend both in fatal and major accidents.

鈥淭his is partly down to the recession, but we think it is also in part owing to improving standards and the long-term programme we launched eight years ago to deliver a cultural change in the industry,鈥� he says.

There is one sector that still stands out as a trouble spot and which, given the current economic climate and drive for sustainable development, is set to grow in coming years 鈥� and that鈥檚 refurbishment.

Many organisations, particularly in the public sector, continue to occupy ageing and unsuitable buildings that might have poor internal planning and are inefficient and expensive to run. Major refurbishment, including stripping the buildings back to the structural frame, is increasingly becoming an attractive option.

鈥淲e might be heading out of recession but it is going to be a long time until we are totally clear of it. Clients staying put and modernising their current properties is going to be the way for the next few years,鈥� says Shaun Davis, safety, health, environment and quality director at refurbishment and maintenance specialist Rok.

There are several arguments for going down the refurbishment route 鈥� greater organisational efficiency, reduced running and capital cost and environmental considerations. The recent transformation of Hampshire council鈥檚 HQ in Winchester saved 拢35m compared with demolishing it and starting again, and it managed to cut the building鈥檚 carbon emissions by almost two-thirds and the embodied energy of the finished building by half.

And it鈥檚 not just commercial buildings 鈥� a lot of public work will also be in refurbishment. The primary capital programme, for example, which will invest 拢1.9bn in renewing half of the country鈥檚 primary schools, will involve a high proportion of refurbishment and extension.

So what is the refurbishment sector鈥檚 record on safety? Earlier this year the secretary of state for work and pensions published a report on the underlying causes of fatal accidents in the construction industry. Phase one of this report gave an in-depth analysis of causes over the past decade, the results of which underpin Rita Donaghy鈥檚 report into fatalities in the construction industry, published in June.

One of the things it highlighted was that refurbishment and repair activity constitutes a consistently high proportion of fatal accidents 鈥� more than 50% of deaths over the past three years.

According to White it tends to be the smaller end of both the domestic and non-domestic sectors that account for these accidents. But he says: 鈥淲e need to look at doing more work on that to find out if there are any trends or any particular sectors on the commercial side, not just for fatal accidents but for major accidents as well.鈥�

Sample accidents mentioned are typical of smaller builders 鈥� a roofer slipping off a ladder when replacing soffits on a residential property, a self-employed builder falling through an opening in a roof while refurbishing a disused outbuilding and a foreman being struck by an excavator bucket while underpinning a house.

But moves are in place to tackle this end of the sector. Talks are continuing between the HSE and the 好色先生TV Control Alliance 鈥� which represents Local Authority 好色先生TV Control and the Association of Consultant Approved Inspectors 鈥� to explore if building control officers or approved inspectors can provide health and safety advice to smaller builders on sites they visit or flag up if there is an issue to the HSE inspector.

鈥淲e need to try different ways alongside our traditional ways of inspecting,鈥� says White. 鈥淭here is already a lot of work going on at a local level between HSE inspectors and local authority building control and we would like to see that becoming the norm across the country. We are hoping to have some form of protocol agreed at the national level soon鈥�.

According to Davis there is a misconception that a refurbishment constitutes a lick of paint and a new floor covering. 鈥淚t can be really significant construction work that has got a lot of safety risks.鈥� Peter Robertshaw, director of safety at civil engineer Osborne, says the size of these types of projects is becoming much larger. 鈥淚t is a totally different skills set compared to new build; it is much more dynamic in that you don鈥檛 know what you鈥檙e going to uncover until you get there,鈥� says Robertshaw. 鈥淲ith a new build you plan everything out to the nth degree, but with particularly large refurbishments it鈥檚 not until you open up the building that you start to come across the anomalies.鈥�

Planning is imperative and finding out about the building鈥檚 previous uses can be a good guide to what to expect. Robertshaw cites refurbishing a former battery factory where the entire structure was saturated in mercury and had to be decontaminated before any work could be done.

Asbestos, fire risks and structural alterations are key danger areas. The ability to carry out dynamic risk assessment and evaluate situations as they are unearthed are key. Osborne has a number of systems in place. It still retains temporary works engineers, who are on hand to design the support structures, and access protection systems that can influence the safety, speed and profitability of a project. The firm has also developed a bespoke managing safety construction certificate in conjunction with the Institute of Safety and Health for its site managers, which takes into account the risks of refurbishment projects.

It also has other courses for operatives and subcontractors but, says Robertshaw, they are reviewing what鈥檚 on offer to see if there are more suitable things available. 鈥淚t is quite difficult to get bespoke refurbishment health and safety courses because it was traditionally quite a small field,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 now a growing field but maybe the training providers in the industry haven鈥檛 quite caught up with that.鈥�

Danger signs

Here is a sample of the in-depth case studies produced by the HSE on the causes of fatal accidents.

The refurbishment of an office owned by a large pension company entailed overhauling the lifts. Experienced and qualified lift engineers were brought in to do the job, which involved replacing the main ropes of the lift car.

A safe method of working was drawn up by the lift consultant that ensured the back-up fall arrest system remained in place. But the subcontractors decided to use their own method of working, which involved removing the back-up system. The lift car was suspended at the eighth floor with a temporary lifting arrangement, while the lead man worked on top of the car removing the cables. During the operation one end of the strop supporting the car became detached from the hook, the lift slid down the length of the strop unchecked, plummeting to the floor below and killing the lead worker.
A refurbishment of industrial premises was being carried out. The site included a large open area with spoil being distributed on the site involving construction plant operations.

Spoil was being taken by dumper truck to a 鈥渞ubble compound鈥� 鈥� an embankment mound and tipping area. The truck driver was a young labourer who was untrained but had been shown how to drive the dumper by a plant operator.

The labourer drove up the embankment with a load of spoil, but went over the edge and was thrown from the seat as he was not wearing a lap belt. He landed on rubble, causing fatal injuries.
Two people wanted a bakery converted into a bistro. They appointed an architect who gave no advice on CDM and a local authority building control officer as project manager who took no responsibility for health and safety. The project was not notified in accordance with CDM and no CDMC/PS was appointed.

Work was being done on the roof to fix edge protection. It was wet and slippery on the roof, which was covered by a tarpaulin. This concealed three voids in the roof although there was no barrier or marking to this effect. One of the workers walked on the tarpaulin and fell through one of the roof lights to his death.