Hello and welcome to

Connect

Hello and welcome to another issue of Connect.

The number of people killed at work in Britain fell last year to a record low, but agriculture has seen a tragic increase in deaths – particularly on farms.

Figures released last week show that 151 workers were killed between April 2009 and March 2010, compared to 178 deaths the previous year. The fall in workplace deaths owes a lot to good practice and leadership, says the HSE, which also points to the recession as another reason for the drop in fatalities. Despite the encouraging figures, though, agriculture is still the most dangerous industry in Britain.

The HSE’s Judith Hackitt said: "We are especially concerned to see the continuing high levels of fatalities in agriculture. The fact that many of these lives have been lost in family businesses is a double tragedy. Not only have families been ripped apart, but businesses that have been handed down through generations have been ruined. No industry can or should regard high levels of workplace death and injury as being 'part of the job'. It doesn't have to be this way as many other sectors have shown by their improvement."

In this issue of Connect, we look at the latest in our five-part series on fire risk assessments. This time, we look at four further components of the risk assessment you should focus on: record, plan, inform, instruct and train.

Traffic accidents at work are the single biggest cause of UK work-related deaths and cost businesses more than £3.5 billion a year. In this issue, we have a best practice guide to occupational road risk.

As well as our features, we have the latest industry news plus what’s new in your Branch and Group.

If you’ve any comments you’d like to make about Connect, please drop me a line.

Thanks for reading.

Shaun Gibbons
e-Editor, IOSH