AN AWARENESS CAMPAIGN launched today by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) aims to tackle common misconceptions about workplace safety and health procedures and to encourage workers and employers not to take unnecessary risks.

The “There’ll always be one…” campaign illustrates the type of scenario that is unfortunately “all too common,” said Gavin Lonergan, Head of Communications with the HSA.

Accident waiting to happen

The ad campaign shows an electrician stretching from the top of his stepladder which is dangerously balanced on top of a makeshift platform. “It’s an accident just waiting to happen,” he said.

Lonergan added:

It might look ridiculous but it’s the type of scenario our inspectors regularly come across. It’s a cliché but accidents don’t just happen, they’re caused, and they often lead to tragic results.

48 people were killed in workplace accidents last year while so far this year 38* people have lost their lives. That’s on top of the thousands of injuries that occur every year.

He said that it’s very easy to make a joke out of workplace safety and health procedures, but “not having them would result in an increase in workplace deaths and injuries as well as substantial financial costs to businesses and the exchequer”.

He said that businesses should have procedures and policies in place to properly manage risk and reduce the chances of a workplace accident is basic common sense.

“A safe and healthy workplace is a win/win outcome for everyone,” he concluded.

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