The warning follows the first full year of the Fee For Intervention (FFI) initiative which was introduced by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) in October 2012 to improve safety on site.
With fines totalling £5,532,565 indicates that the HSE is cranking up the pressure. With the construction sector accounting for 36% of this figure (£1,991,723) means builders will have to up their game when it comes to their health and safety obligations.
A material breach is billed as being where the inspector believes there has been a contravention of health and safety law that is serious enough to require them to notify businesses in writing.
Joanna Mulgrew marketing director at building software specialist company HBXL is now warning builders up and down the country to make sure they comply with all their health and safety obligations or risk an untimely invoice.
Joanna said: “One year on it’s clear that HSE is taking the FFI initiative very seriously. The figures speak for themselves and as inspectors become more familiar with the system the general expectation is that FFI will be implemented even more often across the board.
“The truth is that a lot of these fines are easily avoidable if firms took a few simple steps to boost their in-house health and safety policies.”
Mulgrew’s concerns are backed by Dave Price, an independent health and safety consultant who believes prevention rather than cure is the best way to avoid a fine.
Dave added: “It’s clear that there will be an upward trend in the number of invoices issued so builders have to act now. The potential cost could hit building firms hard just as many are showing signs of recovery.”
According to Mulgrew one of the best ways to make sure builders are not in breach of their obligations is to consider HBXL’s Health & Safety Xpert software that provides all health and safety paperwork required on any job at the push of a button. It is then ready for review and implementation on site making sure builders are running a safe project.
She added: “Every business should take their health and safety obligations seriously as they have a duty of care for both their workforce and general public but the annoying thing is that the vast majority of these breaches are so easily avoided.
“The software enables builders to keep pace with ever stricter compliance requirements. All users have to do is tell the software what they are building and it will present the hazards and suggest control measures to put in place to ensure there are no breaches in regulations.
“It’s infinitely cheaper than an invoice and more importantly helps prevent those working on site getting injured.”
For further information on Health & Safety Xpert or any HBXL product please call T: 0845 1234 065 or visit the web site www.hbxl.co.uk
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