Elite Construction

When looking at the average weather for the UK in winter, there are less than nine and a
half hours of sunlight In comparison, it was found that during the summer, there is over
f’ifteen hours worth of sunlight. That’s a massive f’ive and a half hours less sunlight. So for
those working outside, like construction workers, who rely on the light to be able to work,
that’s more than f’ive hours less time to work.
Broken down with the average tradesman earning £544.60 a week, this means that over the
winter months they would face a loss of £295.32. So, for the industry as a whole, 899,000
workers could be missing out on almost three hundred pounds a year. For the industry, this
adds up to a £265,495,910 loss.
Matt Boatwright, the Head of Direct Line for Business described: “Those working in the
construction industry are clearly in demand, with the average hours of work increasing by
more than 45 minutes per week over the last decade.”
“However, the UK’s construction businesses have always been restricted in the hours that
they work by the weather, with poor weather conditions or light quality having an impact.”
“New innovations, such as Fleetlights, which is a prototype service that uses a f’leet of f’lying
torch drones, responsive to movement and controlled via a bespoke app, could potentially
make the construction industry more productive.”
“Just a few minutes’ extra work per day can have a positive impact on a project, and
without the burden of poor light, the construction industry could complete contracts faster
and increase their business’ earning potential as a result.”
A FEAR OF FALLING: IS THIS CAUSING A SHORTAGE OF ROOFERS?
According to a recent survey of over two hundred trainee roofers, 43% revealed that the
fear of injury, or even death, is their biggest concern.
Specif’ically, of the 212 that were surveyed, it was found that 63 of the trainee roofers were
most concerned about falling from a height. Alongside this, twelve revealed that their
biggest concern was health and safety, eleven felt that it was injuries and f’ive even said that
they feared death.
According to statistics from the Health and Safety Executive, these young roofers are
right to be concerned. When looking back to the 45 construction workers killed within
the 2015/2016 period, it was found that four of these individuals were involved in roof’ing
accidents. It has also been found that 45 percent of on-site fatal injuries are due to working
at heights.
However, surprisingly, there was one thing that roofers were more worried about than
heights: the weather. Specif’ically, 65 of the students surveyed revealed that they were most
worried about the weather.
In addition to these fears, it was also found that more needs to be done to reach potential
roofers whilst they are in school and college. This was established after statistics revealed
that the most common reason for students to be interested in joining the roof’ing trade was
due to having family and/or friends already in the trade. This was followed by 14% simply
wanting to work outside and 12% interested in the money associated with being a roofer.
Elite Publishing Limited | www
Elite Publishing Limited | www.elitepublishing.co.uk
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