Every day, construction workers take on tasks such as operating machinery, working at height, lifting heavy items and handling chemicals, and even with health and safety policies and procedures in place, accidents are always possible.
Every year, there are 61,000 injuries to construction workers in the UK, on average, with a quarter of these caused by slips, trips and falls.
Health and safety is imperative at OFP. We take the fact that construction workers are exposed to risks every day very seriously, and we do everything we can to mitigate these risks.
Some ways we can reduce the risk of accidents on construction sites are to operate within a more controlled environment, utilise specialist equipment and reduce time spent on construction sites. How can we do this? At OFP, we adopted Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) to help to reduce these risks as much as possible.
GoConstruct.org describe MMC as a process which focuses on off-site construction techniques, such as mass production and factory assembly, as alternatives to traditional building.
Can off-site manufacturing or MMC be the answer to reducing accidents on-site?
Reduced waste, increased productivity, accuracy, precision, and reduced impact on the environment are just some of the reasons why construction companies are moving to MMC.
On average, 67% less energy is required to produce a modular building, and up to 50% less time is spent on-site compared with traditional construction methods, resulting in up to 90% fewer vehicle movements for the project, which in turn, reduces CO2 emissions. (https://www.hsmsearch.com/).
However, there are also many benefits of MMC that relate to the health and safety of our construction workers and could be one of the answers to reducing accidents on-site.
However, there are also many benefits of MMC that relate to the health and safety of our construction workers and could be one of the answers to reducing accidents on-site.
Health and safety benefits of off-site manufacturing:
- Operating within a controlled environment that is pre-planned and accurate means that the working environment is much more predictable, leading to fewer errors and accidents.
- Poor weather conditions such as wind, rain and ice can lead to slips, trips and falls on-site. Off-site manufacturing and factory conditions are unaffected by the weather.
- With increased productivity and accuracy means less time spent on construction sites where accidents are more likely to happen.
- Reduced or no requirement for construction workers to work at height, reduces the risk of falls and injury.
- Separation between people and moving vehicles and, in some cases, no moving vehicles reduces the possibility of accidents.
When considering the adoption of MMC, the health and safety benefits can be overlooked as MMC offers many advantages.
At OFP, the health and safety of our team are paramount. Designed to suit the requirements of off-site manufacture perfectly, our purpose-built factory combines quality and capacity and reaps all the benefits of MMC, including the health and safety of our team.
In addition, we hold several health and safety certifications, including ISO45001, SMAS, CHAS, ISO14001, and ISO9001.
For more information on our factory or processes, check out our previous blog: Take a look inside our purpose-built factory.
Alternatively, you can contact us directly, and we will be happy to assist.