The importance of the safe man-hour
We say it so often in the construction and engineering industry that the term sometimes loses meaning, but the man-hour is what we determine as the amount of work the average worker can carry out in one hour. It is the unit we use to estimate how long it will take to complete a job, which of course has a massive bearing on cost and budget. But what could have an even bigger impact on cost, not just in financial but reputational terms, is the safe man-hour.
What exactly is a safe man-hour?
A safe man-hour, by definition, is a man-hour of work completed without any lost time, injury or accident. It is a crucial indicator and a clear reflection of the performance of a contractor’s health and safety policies and procedures.
It helps to illustrate the level to which a contractor is able to prevent accidents and injuries and minimise safety risks on their projects.
Zero lost time accidents for ADCO
For an environmental, health and safety manager, one of the most important metrics of safety performance is the lost time incident rate (LTI). The LTI measures the number of incidents or accidents on site that result in a disability or a team member missing work due to injury.
The higher this measurement, the greater the indication that a contractor’s safety performance is lacking. What this can mean are higher insurance premiums, skilled workers feeling they are at risk and starting to look for employment elsewhere and, ultimately, reputational damage that will be very difficult to repair, if at all. So a high LTI is not a good sign when it comes to choosing a construction partner.
The lower this measurement, on the other hand, the more successful a contractor is at practising higher standards of health and safety in their practices and completing jobs on time. And it doesn’t get any lower than the LTI rating that ADCO has worked hard to achieve: Zero.
Every man-hour is a safe one at ADCO
Setting a high bar for health and safety is not simply a policy at ADCO, it’s our culture, a shared belief held by every person who walks through our doors and onto sites up and down the country.
From our foundation in 2009, we’ve made it our mission at ADCO to make sure everyone who works with us or for us goes home safely every day, both physically and psychologically. With stress, depression or anxiety accounting for 27% of all work-related illnesses in the construction industry, our Health and Safety policy addresses the issue of mental health too. Because protecting the mind and body of construction workers reduces the risk of accident, injury or illness. It also prevents project delays and hold-ups, and improves the quality of our work.
We’re A-rated for Safe-T
ADCO has achieved an A rating on Safe-T-Cert for the procedures and structures we have in place to safeguard all our employees, contractors, people and property affected by our work. Our safety record is one of the reasons over 80% of our work is sourced from repeat business clients. We even received the award for excellence in Health and Safety.
This isn’t about patting ourselves on the back
Maximising the number of safe man-hours and minimising the amount of lost time accidents should be the number one goal for any contractor. Understanding construction safety statistics and achieving high safety metrics is how we improve our standards and prove to our clients our safety and quality credentials.
Next time you are reviewing the health and safety practices and record of a potential construction partner, ask them about how many safe man-hours they have clocked up or how low their LTA is.
You can learn more about our outstanding safety record and statistics, as well as our health and safety policy here or reach out to Robert or any member of the EHS team if you would like more specific information. They’ll be happy to answer your questions.