Health and safety

Performance indicator

Number of HSE reportable injuries: 288 (2004 baseline)

Current position

The former QPA (now MPA) was the first trade association to sign up to the Health & Safety Commission’s Hard Target initiative and, as a result, has worked to achieve the targeted halving of injuries from 2000 - 2005. In fact, the six largest MPA members exceeded that target, achieving a 73 per cent reduction in RIDDOR incidents. We believe that this is a remarkable achievement, delivered only through the commitment of each business to accept full responsibility for the well-being of its workforce and visitors. The official outcome of the HSE Hard Target for the surface extractive sector as a whole was a 52 per cent reduction in the period 2000 - 2005.

The combined effect of so many companies applying themselves to safety improvements has yielded a wealth of innovation from changes to the physical working environment to the development of a health and safety culture. Best practice is shared between members and non-members and the ongoing challenges are discussed at the MPA Health and Safety Committee.

The coverage of this indicator is the best of the suite and the data is also the most mature.

Aspirations

The ultimate aspiration of MPA members is zero injuries. The industry acknowledges that this is a particularly hard target but MPA recognises that its social responsibility is to aim for nothing less. As a further step in this direction, the association has set a target for a further 50 per cent reduction in HSE reportable injuries between 2005 and 2009, based on the 2004 outcome. The baseline for this new target is the total of 288 injuries recorded by all MPA members with operations in Great Britain in 2004.

Currently, we are on target for a 55% reduction which, if achieved, will better the target set in 2004.