Road construction in Malaga. Spain’s economy is finally recovering after a long recession. Pictures by Mikko Eskelinen

Every year, more than three million people have work-related accidents in EU. Almost four thousand die. These accidents cost estimated €476 billion. With recovering economy, these number are bound to rise. Many injuries and deaths could be avoided with decisive action and proper safety training.

Work can be more lethal than war. According to ILO, more than two million die annually at work, worldwide. To put the numbers in perspective, ”only” 167,000 people died in armed conflicts in 2015. There are no wars within EU, but every year almost 4000 people die and 3,2 million get injured in work-related accidents.

”Many injuries and deaths could be avoided by proper safety training,” said Mikko Eskelinen of Apprix, a developer of engaging e-tools for learning work safety.

Eskelinen just returned from a business trip from Spain, where every year almost 400,000 people have work-related accidents. After a long slow period, construction industry is now booming in Spain. Construction is also the leading cause for work-related accidents in EU. ”That is why we at Apprix have focused on developing engaging e-tools for safety learning, especially for construction industry,” Eskelinen explained. ”We have had excellent learning results and big reductions in incidents.”

Austria, Finland and France lead the EU statistics on most injuries resulting in sick leave.
(Source: Health and Security Executive, UK. Note: Due to methodological problems the EU LFS injury data contains no data for Germany or the Netherlands; as such)

(GRAPHICS BELOW / Construction is booming both in Sweden and Spain. Sadly, there is strong correlation with construction and work-related accidents. Source: Euroconstruct http://www.euroconstruct.org/ec/press/pr2017_84)

Top causes of work-related deaths in EU
1. Construction
2. Transport and storage
3. Manufacturing
4. Agriculture, forestry and fishing
5. Wholesale and retail trade

(Source: Eurostat, http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Accidents_at_work_statistics)

Non-Fatal work-related Accidents in EU, annually
– Germany 847,000
– France 724,000
– Spain 390.000
– Italy 313,000
– United Kingdom 245,000

(Source: Health and Security Executive, UK http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/european)

Safety is an excellent investment

Every year, work-related accidents influence the the lives on tens on millions of people. They have severe economic effects, also. According to recent survey by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) together with the International Labour Organization (ILO), work-related accidents and injuries cost EU €476 billion a year. Globally, work-related injury and illness result in the loss of 3,9 percent of GDP, the annual cost to the world economy being roughly €2680 billion. The amount of injuries follow the world economic cycles: when the economy is recession, less workers get injured, and when there is an economic boom, work-related accidents soar.
World Economic Forum has raised discussion over the immense costs of work-related accidents.

There are many benefits from developing a safety culture at one’s company, as Daniel R. Nobbe, a plant leader for Fiberteq remarked in the US National Safety Council report. ”None of which is more valuable than employee loyalty,” Nobbe noted. ”When employees know you care about their personal well-being and you prove that to them in their workplace, it increases morale, engagement, awareness, motivation and productivity.”

Towards zero incidents

The construction industry is the leading source of work accidents. That is why its whole industrial environment, both contractors and owners have to commit the time, budget and management to focus on the well-being of the construction workforce. This is reflected in a recent report by Ernst & Young called The Future of Health and Safety – Moving beyond Zero: “In many workplaces, safety is managed as a separate process, largely disconnected from the business imperatives of production and profit. However, health and safety is not a process in its own right, but an outcome of business decisions, strategy, culture and performance.”

With its engaging, SAARS based Builder e-learning tools, Apprix is also striving towards zero work-related accidents with its partners. ”It should be crystal clear, that innovative ways of reducing work-related accidents should be a top priority all over the world,” Eskelinen said. ”This is our company’s mission: Helping as many people as possible to stay at work and return to their homes healthy and safe. Every day, we make life at work a bit safer.”

Fortune is alarmed by the rising number of construction worker deaths.

Read more:
European Statistics on Accidents at Work (ESAW)
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3859598/5926181/KS-RA-12-102-EN.PDF
Work-related accidents and injuries cost EU €476 billion a year according to new global estimates
https://osha.europa.eu/en/about-eu-osha/press-room/eu-osha-presents-new-figures-costs-poor-workplace-safety-and-health-world
Global Estimates of Occupational Accidents and Work-related Illnesses 2014
https://www.wsh-institute.sg/files/wshi/upload/cms/file/Global%20Estimates%20of%20Occupational%20Accidents%20and%20Work-related%20Illness%202014.pdf
Up to 40% of road deaths in Europe are work-related
http://etsc.eu/up-to-40-of-road-deaths-in-europe-are-work-related/
More than 2 million people die at work each year. Here’s how to prevent it
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/03/workplace-death-health-safety-ilo-fluor/
Injury and Illness Prevention Programs, White Paper (Department of Labor, US, 2012)
https://www.osha.gov/dsg/InjuryIllnessPreventionProgramsWhitePaper.html
Fortune: Construction Worker Deaths Hit Highest Level Since Recession
http://fortune.com/2017/01/25/occupational-safety-workplace-accidents/
EY: The future of health and safety
http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EY-the-future-of-health-and-safety/%24FILE/EY-the-future-of-health-and-safety.pdf