Construction firms have been told site safety needs to be a priority if they wish to stay in business.
According to John Meola, occupational safety and health manager at the Louis Berger Group, a solid safety strategy must be a "bedrock requirement for any company".
He said the plan it draws up has to be particularly detailed if it operates in an industry where the exposure of staff to risk is relatively high, such as construction.
However, Mr Meola insisted this does not need to be as complicated a process as it may sound. Indeed, he noted that safety manuals used by other businesses are easily accessible online and could be used by firms to form the basis of their strategy.
"Most are generic, but with a little wordsmithing, you can easily create a respectable plan for your operations," Mr Meola stated.
"Take some pride in writing it up properly, because you never know when some barrister will be reading it."
According to figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), only five per cent of the UK's workforce operates in the construction sector.
Nevertheless, nine per cent of reported major injuries to employees occur in this particular industry, along with 27 per cent of fatal injuries.
While the death rate in the construction trade has fallen in recent years, the number of fatalities is still disproportionately high, with 50 workers dying during 2010-11.
Mr Meola suggested businesses could also improve safety by joining a local or national industry group. This, he said, would allow them to find out more about what safety regulations apply to their particular sector and allow them to network with other firms in their field.
He stated this is one of the easiest ways in which a firm can make sure it is "upholding the applicable industry safety regulations" and "generally stay attuned" to what is happening in the sector in which it operates.
Mr Meola added it is the responsibility of managers at a business to assure "safety on the job" and not that of their workers.
