In 2021/2022 123 workers were killed in work related accidents, 25% of these incidents were in the construction industry[1]. This is the highest percentage across all industries in the UK, and a similar trend can be seen in previous years. This highlights how crucial it is to have the correct safety measures and equipment on construction sites. Following the construction industry, the agriculture forestry and fishing, manufacturing, transportation, and storage industries had the highest percentages of deaths in the workplace due to accidents[2]. Within these workplaces the PPE and protective measures are crucial and need to be correct. Out of the 123 workers that were killed in work related accidents, 29 of these were falls from a height, followed by struck by moving vehicle or struck by moving/falling objects[3]. With these kinds of accidents causing the greatest number of deaths protecting your workers heads must be a top priority.
Through our Wellbeing through Safety® initiative we provide the World’s first ever safety helmet with the Mips Cradle (Nexus Extreme Mips). The Mips safety helmet exceed the standards and transfer less shock for improved impact and penetration protection. To make sure a safety helmet is working to the best of its ability it should fit the wearer properly, the Mips helmet has a wheel rachet for improved head and nape protection. If the impact is dead centre, there will be limited rotational forces but if you are hit at any kind of angle these will be introduced. You can’t guarantee all accidents to your head will be dead centre and that is why the head protection provided needs to give ultimate protection. This is where our Mips Cradle safety helmets come in. With a low friction layer that allows the head to move inside the helmet harmful rotational motion can be redirected which would otherwise be transferred to the head.
The safety helmet with Mips cradle has four layers for increased protection which can be vital to keeping your head safe from all kinds of falls and falling objects at any angle. It also allows for 10-15mm of movement, protecting the head from harmful rotational motion which is a result of objects making impact with the head at an angle.
Layer 1: the outer shell dissipates the impact energy.
Layer 2: the liner decelerates the impact.
Layer 3: the cradle reduces shock.
Layer 4: the Mips, redirects the rotational forces.
The correct PPE is definitely an important factor in protecting your work force but health safety in the workplace needs to be constantly reassessed to assure it is a safe and healthy environment for its employees. Making sure all your employees have access to the correct PPE can be challenging, you can trust Greenham to support you with market leading products.
Some top tips for employers are to assess all workplace risks including:
- Speaking to your company’s health and safety officer to get advice and guidance on areas that could be improved,
- Give employees the head protection they need free of charge
- Demonstrate to employees the correct way to wear head protection and check regularly that they are wearing it correctly.
- Make your work force more alert and focused to help reduce fatal injuries through mistakes and accidents.
Thankfully workplace fatalities due to injury are rare events however we still need to push further to reduce the numbers. Although this is a reduction from the number of fatalities the previous year and the UK has one of the lowest fatalities across Europe, 123 people still lost their lives which cannot be ignored. Companies need to review their health and safety measures to get this number down even further. There are fluctuations in the numbers of fatal injuries year on year however the number has remained quite flat for the last ten years. We must push to try and reduce this number by increasing employee’s wellbeing and safety.
Protecting the head is extremely important, furthermore, other aspects of PPE cannot be forgotten… through our Wellbeing Through Safety® initiative we offer an informative guide of how to protect different parts of the body with the correct PPE.
*some of the statistics included may have been affected by COVID 19
*source for this article: Reporting of injuries, diseases, and dangerous occurrences regulations.
[1] /https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/pdf/fatalinjuries.pdf
[2] https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/pdf/fatalinjuries.pdf
[3] https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/pdf/fatalinjuries.pdf
