Manufacturing and Engineering Magazine Volume 420 - September 2015 | Page 83

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HEALTH &
SAFETY

EASIER SAID THAN DONE?

4

As one of the most hazardous (yet
essential) industries to work in, the
manufacturing and engineering sectors are ones whereupon health and
safety must be handled with the
utmost
care
and
diligence.
Additionally, as the UK manufacturing sector
is made up of a diverse range of sub-industries
and professions playing host to an estimated
2.5m workers, it is one where the management of health and safety is far more easily
said than done.
Over the past 5 years, each year there have
been an average of 22 recorded deaths due to
workplace accidents in the manufacturing
industry, with an average of more than 3,100
reports of major injuries and 4,100 reports of
injuries which have kept workers away from the
workplace for seven days or more. Additionally,
many of those working in the sector also suffer
ill health from workplace exposures which
accounts for an estimated 33,000 illnesses displayed by workers.
It has been 40 years since the Health and
Safety Work Act received Royal Assent, thus
providing a new regulatory framework for
workplace health and safety in Great Britain
through the HSE. To this day, the HSE has

maintained an unequivocal stance on health
and safety in all industries, but particularly in
those with the greatest risks such as manufacturing. In line with this, the organisation has a
targeted strategy for managing health and
safety within the manufacturing sector and all
of its sub-industries.
For grouping the various different components of the industry, the HSE uses a hybrid
groupings approach to allow for the accommodation of challenges posed by the sheer diversity of the sector and providing a basis for targeted attention in key areas at the same time as
retaining sufficient scope for tailored industry
interventions. By grouping different industries
into these sections, the HSE is able to provide
more targeted support and guidance to industries with similar risks, or scales of risk whereupon health and safety may need to be handled
in an entirely different manner to that of other,
oft related industries.
This approach has proven to be very effective for the HSE and allows for it to guide all
organisations within the vast manufacturing
sector in the right direction. Looking to the
future it is clear that the HSE will continue to
monitor the ever-changing landscape of the
manufacturing sector and adapt its processes in

turn. Commenting on the current state of the
industry and future trends, the HSE comments:
“The number of people employed in manufacturing has shrunk considerably over the
past 30 years, partly as a result of automation
and improved production techniques, and
partly as a result of cheaper imports and the
export of production capacity by GB manufacturers. However, the position now is relatively
stable due in part to the diversity of the sector,
which contains: high-tech industries such as
aerospace which are not so cost sensitive,
those producing lower value items such as
some construction products where transport
costs favour domestic production, food processing, linked to the GB land industries that
grow the produce or livestock, and assembly
plants for Far East motor manufacturers, representing their strategic decisions on where to
locate within the EU, with their GB manufacturing supply chains providing 'just in time'
delivery of parts.
“Changes in manufacturing methods linked
to new materials, new technologies and greater
automation ('advanced manufacturing') should
also support relatively high 'added-value'
domestic producers rather than low-cost (overseas) manufacturers.”

MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

81