Composites UK has published its Health and Safety Report for 2022.
The report summarises key accident and health statistics for the sector during 2022 and enables us as an industry to identify areas for improvement to better protect the workforce and develop our action plan to deliver this. Comparison with the wider manufacturing sector enables us to benchmark how we are doing in terms of safety in the workplace.
The UK manufacturing sector as a whole reports 4 main accident types under RIDDOR for 2022 – contact with machinery, hit be a moving object, slips and trips, and manual handling. In addition to these main accident types, knife injury and other cuts are, not surprisingly, a significant accident type for the composites industry.
Composites UK works with other Trade Associations on the HSE Safety in Manufacturing in Plastics and Composites (SIMPLC) initiative. SIMPLC was launched in 2010 to help reduce industrial injuries. Over the 13 years since its launch, a wealth of tools and information has been made available to industry through the supporting trade associations, aiming to embed a health and safety culture within businesses. Accompanying this has been a measurable decrease in the number of accidents reported across all industries, but there is still work to do and in 2022 a fourth strategy was launched. This new strategy incorporates an increased focus on mental health, workplace stress and wellbeing; statistics show that poor mental health is now the number one reason for work related illness in the UK. In line with the new strategy, Composites UK has updated its action plan to help members achieve long-term improvements.
Key areas of activity are:
- Reduction of accidents across key areas
- Hand knife injuries and other cuts
- Manual handling
- Slips and trips – a priority for 2023
- Ill health – targeting key areas
- Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)
- Exposure to agents potentially causing lung disease (e.g., fume and dust)
- Dermatitis
- Noise
- Hand-arm vibration
- Mental health in the workplace
For more information on the SIMPLC initiative and the associated action plan for the composites industry visit https://compositesuk.co.uk/industry-support/health-and-safety/
Members can download the 2022 H&S report from the members area of the Composites UK website and their H&S representatives have been sent a copy in the monthly H&S bulletin.