The 2017 Safety Report documents and analyses accident and injury statistics for full NASC contracting members in 2016 – representing over 17,000 UK scaffolding operatives.

For the fourth year running the NASC reported a fatality-free year.

Accident incidence rates were almost half the level of five years ago despite a 14% rise in the number of NASC member operatives over the period.

The report highlighted the lowest ever accident incidence and frequency rates recorded by NASC full contracting member companies and also showed a 16% decrease in the frequency of manual handling injuries.

Also no members of the public were injured around NASC member scaffolds.

NASC President, Alan Lilley said: “Once again, the NASC Annual Safety Report has highlighted how successful our members are at reducing accidents through compliance with industry safety standards and adherence to NASC guidance.

“No doubt, the release of SG4:15 ‘Preventing Falls in Scaffolding Operations’ was a major factor in achieving this reduction in accidents.

“And the fact that there’s been a marked reduction in the number of accidents – despite a record-level of NASC membership and a 14% increase in operatives – shows what we do for our members in producing quality safety and technical guidance.

“It’s not all great news though. For the 12th consecutive year, slips, trips and falls were the major cause of accident and injury – representing a third of all reported injuries.

“And although there was a marginal reduction in incidents from 2015, this still represents a major issue for the scaffolding industry and is something we will investigate.”

NASC Managing Director, Robin James added: “The Annual Safety Report clearly highlights what we are doing to drive up safety standards in access and scaffolding, with reliable data to back it up.

“NASC members are strictly audited to maintain the highest possible standards, helping to keep their contracted operatives safe on construction sites right across the UK.”

For a full digital copy of the report click here