4
JANUARY 2016 PRO INSTALLER
PRO NEWS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
BUFF BUILDERS BIN
BOOZE FOR BICEPS
Forget the pub, white van men are more likely to be found in
the gym than drinking pints, according to a new survey.
A study of 1,000
tradespeople by supplier IronmongeryDirect,
found that 69% of
tradespeople don’t go
to the pub that often,
and 10% never go.
17% go once or twice
a week but only 2%
go most days and 2%
every day.
However, 32% admitted
that they regularly go to the
gym and exercise, and 50%
said they are watching their
weight. 13% are currently
on the Atkins diet, 13% are
using Slimming World, 11%
use Herbalife, 8% are on
the 5:2 diet and 5% are on
Weight Watchers.
When asked to describe
their food habits and lifestyle, 34% said they lead
a healthy lifestyle and 5%
described themselves as
very healthy. Most (50%)
said their lifestyle was
average but only 10% said
‘It just goes to show how
much tradespeople take
their jobs seriously’
they were not that healthy,
which is much lower than
the rest of the population
who admitted they led an
unhealthy lifestyle (18%).
The survey was conducted
as part of IronmongeryDirect’s ‘The real white van
man revealed’ campaign.
Wayne Lysaght-Mason,
managing director at IronmongeryDirect, said: “It just
goes to show how much
tradespeople take their
jobs seriously. Working in a
trade can be rather labour
intensive, so it’s important that tradespeople are
relatively fit and healthy to
complete the job at hand.”
www.ironmongeryDirect.co.uk
Health and safety
challenge to
protect workers
A construction chief in
the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) has
challenged the refurbishment industry to
act now and protect its
workers.
Peter Baker, HSE Chief
Inspector of Construction,
made the challenge to the
industry after 46% of sites
fell below standards during
a recent HSE inspection
initiative.
During the nationwide
campaign, 1,908 sites were
inspected, 432 prohibition
notices issued and 260
improvement notices issued
– 58% relating to health
risks.
Inspectors targeted their
visits to sites where refurbishment work was being
carried out, focussing on
the main causes of accidents
and ill-health in this high
risk sector.
These included exposure
to carcinogens such as silica
and asbestos, manual handling, noise, vibration, work
at height, exposure to other
hazardous substances and
site good order.
Health and safety breaches
were also followed up with
clients and designers, reinforcing their duties under
the CDM 205 regulations.
Source: HSE