Two men a week die in workplace deaths in the UK according to official figures for the five year period from 2009-2014.

The leading cause of casualties was falls from height, which was most prevalent in the construction industry. These accounted for three out of every ten deaths amongst workers in the UK between in the past year. In total, 510 of the 528 people who died at work were male, accounting for nearly 97% of fatalities according to figures from the HSE

his is the table of numbers we used when working out the averages: (the table is called RIDAGEGEN on the HSE statistics site if you want to see the entire thing. This is just a section we took from it).

Bryan Richards of health and safety consultancy Arinite said:

Greater risk

“Although there has been an on-going debate for more equality in women doing `men's' work, it does not work out in practice. Although `top percentile' women are fitter and more physically capable than many men, it s about averages here and the average woman cannot do the physically demanding work that an average man can do, and these tend to be the jobs where there us a greater risk of fatal injury e.g. construction, utility industries etc.”

“As for major and minor injuries, all people are vulnerable to falling when moving around a workplace. The actual risk of falling will vary depending on whether there are trip and fall hazards permanently or temporarily in the workplace. It would be difficult to eliminate this most common cause of injury at work, but injuries can be avoided/reduced by controlling the common factors that may cause trips and falls.

"These include: the working environment (office, factory etc), the type of floor surface (slippery, non-slip), contamination (spillages), obstacles (trailing cables, boxes etc.), footwear (non-slip, high heels etc.), people! (mobility disability, distracted when walking etc).”

Protective measures

“The hazard of falling needs to be managed proportionate to the risk. From using a step ladder correctly to using a tower crane or working on a high rise building. Protective measures include training and physical protection.”

A former construction worker, Daniel Long, who says he left the industry due to safety concerns said:

“It would be quite difficult for women trying to enter the construction industry – it’s a male dominated area and most of the builders I know wouldn’t happily want to let a woman carry heavy, concrete blocks in front of them. They’d struggle getting respect from fellow builders.”

“I worked in construction for two years before leaving, mostly in narrow corridors without supervision. It was OK being left to get on with things but more training at the beginning is important. I had no idea about protective footwear and that kind of thing and just got the facts from other guys on site.”

---Infographic: Arinite Health & Safety