Worker’s Memorial Day is a poignant reminder of the steps employers should take to avoid workplace accidents.
This international day of remembrance for all workers who have been killed, disabled, injured or in any way made unwell by their work, was held on Sunday 28th April. Worker’s Memorial Day is seen as an opportunity to highlight the preventable nature of most workplace accidents, and to promote Health and Safety in the workplace.
In Ireland, the number of fatal accidents that have occurred in the workplace continued to decrease in 2018, but the concern is that a large increase of inexperienced workers in the construction sector will raise the possibility of greater numbers of incidents occurring. Over the past few years the numbers of fatal accidents have steadily dropped. In the boom time, between 2002 – 2007, there was an average of 62 deaths per year. There were 55 in 2014, 56 in 2015, 46 in 2016, 47 in 2017 and a low of 37 in 2018. However, even though the Health and Safety Authority see this decline as positive, the fact that in 2017 of the 47 deaths that took place, 6 of them involved members of the public, including a small child, is a major concern.
The most common causes of these fatal accidents in 2017 were out of control modes of transport and the mishandling of equipment which, combined, were responsible for 44.7 per cent of fatalities, falls from heights were also triggers. The figures were similar in 2016. Aside from worker deaths, there were also 9143 non-fatal injuries, 95 per cent of which involved workers, reported to the Health and Safety Authority in 2017.
Mackin can help you to avoid workplace accidents
With over 16 years experience of providing Health and Safety advice and training, both in Ireland and on a global scale, to small companies and large multinationals alike, we at Mackin are the ideal solution to providing your workforce with the skills they need to stay safe at work. We were accredited Global Thought Leader – Environmental, Health and Safety 2018-19 in the Business All Star Program , SME of the Year at the 2018 Cork Business Awards, and have a highly experienced, fully qualified SAFE Pass trainer as part of our team. 
We provide a wide variety of Health and Safety courses that are of particular relevance to the construction industry, including:
- Abrasive wheels
- Manual handling
- First aid
- Safe pass
- Fire training
- Forklift training
- Safety harness use and inspection
- Confined space awareness
- MEWP – Mobile Elevated Working Platform
You can also book Site Inductions and Site Safety Assessments with Mackin.
All of our training courses are certificated; training programmes can be tailored to meet the specific needs of each individual, and courses can be held at our training facility or at a location of your choice.