Surge in Near-Miss Incidents Highlights Growing Concern Over Construction Site Safety Standards

A new review of health and safety performance across the UK construction sector has identified a sharp rise in “near-miss” incidents, prompting renewed warnings from regulators and industry bodies about declining on-site safety standards. The analysis, compiled from data submitted by major contractors and industry groups, indicates that the volume of reported near-miss events has increased by more than a third over the past year.

According to the Construction Industry Council, many of the reported incidents involved workers narrowly avoiding falls from height, vehicle collisions, or contact with live services during excavation work. While no injuries were recorded in these near-miss cases, safety experts say the trend is a sign of “systemic weaknesses” in planning, supervision and site-level communication.

“The rise in near-miss reporting is a double-edged sword,” said Helen Marchant, a spokesperson for the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH). “On one hand it shows that workers feel more confident reporting hazards. On the other, it tells us that too many construction activities are being carried out without adequate controls in place. A near miss today can very easily become a life-changing injury tomorrow.”

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has also expressed concern, stating that many of the events appear linked to rushed project schedules, subcontractor coordination problems and ageing equipment. An HSE representative commented: “We continue to see evidence that basic safety arrangements - such as site inductions, equipment checks and clear access routes - are not being applied consistently. These are fundamental requirements, not optional extras.”

Industry unions say the data reflect what workers have been warning about for months. Unite’s construction officer, Joe Hudson, said: “People are being put under pressure to hit deadlines, and corners inevitably get cut. When you have workers reporting the same hazards repeatedly, and they’re still happening, that is a management failure - not a worker failure.”

Contractors, however, argue that the increase may also reflect improved hazard-reporting culture following the wider adoption of digital reporting tools on sites. Several major firms have introduced real-time incident-logging apps allowing operatives to record hazards instantly, complete with photographs and GPS tagging. These tools have contributed to higher reporting volumes, but companies acknowledge that the underlying issues still need to be addressed.

Safety analysts note that while the UK’s fatality rate in construction has remained broadly stable, the escalation in near-miss events is an important leading indicator of future risk. Many organisations operating under ISO 45001 are now reviewing their hazard-identification and risk-assessment processes, with some carrying out unscheduled safety audits to understand why routine controls are being bypassed.

The Construction Industry Council says it will publish new sector-wide guidance later this year focusing on proactive hazard identification, supervisor competence and the importance of “positive intervention culture” on site. “The goal now is prevention,” Marchant added. “We need to ensure every one of these near-misses becomes a catalyst for improvement - not a warning that goes unheeded.”

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