Safe and Sound: Navigating Common Workplace Hazards

Accidents happen all of the time. They can occur at home, while travelling, in public and even at work. Accidents at work can be the most shocking as they can be caused by just about anything, from machinery to a lack of PPE. Statistics released in November show that between 2022 and 2023, 561,000 workers sustained a self-reported injury (which was non-fatal). More shockingly, whilst 561,000 workers self-reported injuries, only 60,645 employee injuries were reported under RIDDOR (RIDDOR is the legal requirement to report all deaths, serious injuries, illnesses, and dangerous illnesses).

Familiarising yourself with the most common causes of workplace injuries is key to preventing them from occurring. According to recent data from the Health and Safety Executive, injuries involving lifting or carrying, together with those caused by slips, trips, and falls, account for almost 50% of non-fatal workplace injuries.

Across all industries, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the most common cause of non-fatal injuries was slips, trips or falls on the same level, which were also responsible for causing 32% of all reported injuries. Both falls from a height and acts of violence were the least likely cause of injury, as each cause was responsible for 8% of the reported injuries. While many of the injuries caused by these types of accidents can be considered minor, they can, in some cases, cause serious back injury, broken bones, paralysis and even amputation.

Gender Impact on Reported Injuries

It is worth noting that according to the data provided by the HSE, men in the workplace were statistically more likely to be injured than women, with 1.8% of male workers reportedly suffering a non-fatal injury compared to 1.5% of female workers.

The HSE acknowledges that this disparity of reports may be due to a number of contributing factors, including their occupation, the length of time they have been doing their job and the industry in which they work.
According to recent data released by ONS in April to June of 2023, 25.7% of manufacturing workers were women. The same data found that women made up 23.2% of those in the transport & storage industry and were only 15.8% of workers in the construction industry.

With this understanding, it can be concluded that the reduction of injuries in women compared to men could be due to fewer women working in more high-risk industries.

Accidents involving machinery

Workplace accidents involving machinery are a major concern in the UK, and it is therefore imperative that employees possess adequate knowledge on how to handle machinery and take other preventive steps when in the vicinity of it. A notable 11% of non-fatal injuries to employees stem from impacts by moving objects. In comparison, 4% are the result of contact with moving machinery, and an additional 2% are attributed to being struck by a moving vehicle.

The most common reasons for injury involving machinery include:

• Entrapments, where individuals can be ensnared within moving components, resulting in injuries such as lacerations, fractures, breaks and amputations.
• Impact injury often occurs when individuals are struck by moving vehicles like pallet trucks or forklifts or when they fall from such vehicles.
• Falling goods from improperly stacked or secured vehicle loads can lead to bruises, fractures, breaks, or crush injuries to those struck by the falling items.
• Contact injury occurs through interaction with sharp, rough, or hot equipment in the absence of proper personal protective equipment (PPE).

Injuries like these can often lead to court cases, where the injured party is seeking recompensation for injuries that were inflicted by a business’s machinery.

In one specific case study, the claimant was removing cooled-down glass from a glass moulding machine. While removing the glass, the machine began its operating procedure again, and this resulted in the claimant’s crush injury to his right ring and middle fingers.

Accidents like these can be prevented through proper machinery testing. Depending on how frequently the machinery is used, each machine should be periodically inspected and tested for any performance issues or metal fatigue.

Another way to prevent accidents and injuries with machines is to ensure all employees operating the machinery are given the correct personal protective equipment (PPE). In addition to ensuring that PPE is available and used correctly, any staff working with machinery should receive comprehensive training. This training should include scenarios where an accident may occur and what to do in those instances to prevent injury.

Accidents on-site

The construction industry, renowned for its high incidence of injuries, is deemed one of the riskiest sectors to work in. Over three years, 53,000 individuals in construction reported non-fatal injuries. Among these incidents, falls from height constituted 20% of the injuries, 17% were attributed to lifting and carrying objects, and 12% resulted from being struck by a moving or falling object.

The most common reasons for injury occurring on-site include

• Slips, trips or falls on the same level – 26%
• Falls from a height – 20%
• Lifting, handling or carrying objects – 17%

Injuries On-site can be a cause for serious injury. This is mainly due to the use of temporary structures such as scaffolding, movable equipment such as an unfixed ladder, and heavy-duty machinery such as electric saws or sanders.

One injury case study found that the claimant, who was working on-site, had caught his left hand in a chop saw. The accident led to the amputation of his left thumb. The accident also caused serious injury to both his left index and middle fingers.

This type of injury can be common in on-site work as equipment often leads to long-term absence from work, with 28% of these non-fatal injuries resulting in an absence from work of over seven days.

Accidents in the warehouse

The storage and transportation industry is less known for its reports of injury; however, it may come as a surprise that over the same three-year span as construction injuries were reported, 29,000 transportation and storage workers were reported to have sustained non-fatal injuries at work.

The most common reasons for injury occurring on-site include:

• Slips, trips or falls on the same level – 33%
• Lifting, handling or carrying objects – 21%
• Struck by a moving or falling object – 13%

Injuries in warehouses can be a common occurrence and can be caused by several reasons, including, though not exclusive to, improper maintenance of equipment, improper use of the equipment and a lack of training.

One such case of improperly maintained equipment occurred when one claimant was working on a wagon. Prior to taking the wagon for repair, the claimant was closing the side canopy in the yard, and as he was locking the canopy, the canopy closed at the front of the vehicle. This sudden movement caused the locking bar to slip, which then caused the claimant’s left hand and ring finger to be crushed. It was concluded that this accident had occurred due to the vehicle canopy frame being twisted, putting the locking mechanism under tension.

Accidents in the factory

The manufacturing industry has become safer and safer; however, that does not mean that it is without injury. According to HSE statistics, over three years, over 46,000 workers were reported to have suffered an injury at work. Of these reported injuries, 27% resulted in workers being absent from work longer than seven days.

The most common reasons for injury occurring on-site include:

• Slips, trips or falls on the same level- 25%
• Lifting, handling or carrying objects – 20%
• Struck by a moving or falling object- 14%

Injuries in factories can have many causes, including moving machinery. One such case occurred when a claimant was operating a computer numerical control (CNC) machine. Whilst loosening the chuck using the tools provided by the workplace, the bolts being used were all rounded off, which caused the tools to slip. As a consequence of the tools slipping, a deep laceration to the palm of the claimant’s hand was inflicted. An injury like this could cause damage to the flexor tendons and could require surgery to repair.

In conclusion, many injuries can occur in the workplace. To properly prepare and prevent them from happening, it is the workplace’s responsibility to ensure that safety measures are in place. A workplace must ensure that all employees have access to the correct PPE, that all employees are fully trained to operate the equipment and machinery they use, that all equipment and machinery are properly maintained and checked regularly, and that proper workplace procedures and practices are in place and implemented. Failure to meet these standards can lead to an increase in workplace injuries.

Methodology

*When calculating what percentage of workers were women per industry, we looked at ONS’ Dataset “EMP13: Employment by industry”. This dataset looked at the number of people in employment per industry.

The percentages looked at the number of people employed in April – June 2023 for the manufacturing, construction and transport & storage industries. They were calculated using the number of women workers in each industry that were employed in April – June 2023.