NATIONAL Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) has released its 2024 Safety Report, which highlights continual improvement in safety standards by member firms.
Since 1975, the trade body has collated and issued accident statistics. As a mandatory membership requirement, all contracting members of NASC are required to complete their annual accident returns.
The report is based on information provided from 16,667 scaffolding and access workers across 280+ contracting members.
Key highlights this year include zero fatalities reported among operatives in 2023, which NASC said marks a significant achievement within the sector’s safety efforts. Additionally, there were no accidents to members of the public recorded.
Almost 80% of all reported accidents were attributed to three types of events: manual handling, slips & trips, and falls from height.
As manual handling was identified as one of the biggest hazards, NASC released the SG6 digitalised manual handling video in 2024, designed to drive better training and highlight additional site risks and preventative measures.
With 28 accidents related to slips and trips recorded in 2023, NASC issued two user guides to address this risk. The SG6 manual handling video and user guide now includes detailed guidance for employers to assess ground conditions and recommendations to incorporate NASC guidance into their Risk Assessments and Method Statements (RAMS).
With 16 falls from height incidents reported in 2023, NASC said fall prevention remains a top priority for improvement. The organisation continues to produce a range of guidance to further raise awareness and drive safer work at height, including the SG4 user guide and the SG6 manual handling video, which portray best practices for working at height.
NASC added that the 2024 safety report demonstrates NASC member accident rates are ‘lower than comparable construction industry accident statistics supplied by the HSE’.
The report is available for free download at www.nasc.org.uk/information/safety-reports/
