The National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) released its annual safety report earlier this month, which includes statistics and analyses based on data from its members. The scaffolding sector applauded the data this year since it shows that safety standards have improved and accidents have decreased.
According to the survey, the rate of accidents in the sector has reached its lowest level ever noted. The scaffolding trade body started formally keeping track of accidents in 1975, highlighting the substantial advancements in health & safety over the span of nearly 50 years.
The quantitative results:
- A 26% decrease in the rate of accidents reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) by NASC contracting members
- Number of incidents fell from 90 in 2021 to 67 in 2022
The report was based on information from 17,315 scaffolding and access workers
NASC currently has 240+ contracting members
All NASC contractor members are audited and supplying official accident and injury statistics to the trade body is a condition of their membership. This makes the NASC annual safety report a comprehensive, reliable, and accurate source of data and information on the current situation in the industry.
The report’s findings are especially encouraging because the decrease in occurrences has taken place despite a 10% growth in the UK’s workforce for scaffolding each year.
The age group of 16 to 20 years old showed the greatest decline in the percentage of incidences. This is more excellent news since it indicates the beneficial effects apprenticeships, training in health and safety, professional advancement, and enhanced safety guidelines and procedures are having on young people starting careers in scaffolding.
NASC President, David Brown, of IBN Scaffold Access Ltd said: “We are fast approaching our 80th Anniversary year in 2025 and when we look back on our previous years, our figures for 2022 speak for themselves – proving that our members are proactive in their approach to improving health and safety for their employees and also for the wider construction industry who use our scaffolds on a daily basis.
“All contractor members are continually audited to ensure the highest health and safety standards, which can be borne out by the annual accident statistics, which have shown an overall reduction in RIDDOR accidents this year. And it is especially pleasing to see a 63% reduction in injuries to the 16-20 age bracket, which shows the importance of arranging early CISRS training, such as COTS, for trainees and labourers.
We at Safety and Access are passionate about the professionalism and safety of our industry, and we have been working relentlessly to raise the bar for scaffolders and anyone performing high-risk work. Our training courses help scaffolders operate safely and manage the dangers involved with their line of work.
We take great pride in the work we do with NASC and the improvement to safety that we have brought about. The results are the result of many years of diligent work by those in the scaffolding and access industry to raise standards by implementing the proper training and abiding by health and safety regulations to make our industry as safe as it can be.
The full Safety Report can be viewed here
