Workforce safety (fatality and weighted injury rate)

Definition

Workforce safety is primarily measured by the Workforce safety (fatalities and weighted injuries) measure. This measure compares the weighted number of personal injuries that are reported in the Safety Management Information System (SMIS) for all Network Rail staff and contractors working on Network Rail’s managed infrastructure, normalised per million hours worked. This measure provides information to help monitor and control accidents and injuries to the workforce.

Results

Commentary

The FWI target for this year has not been met and the moving annual average (MAA) FWI rate has remained broadly level since 2009/10. The reduction in major injuries from 100 to 98 has been offset by an increase in the number of fatalities from one to two and lost time injuries from 203 to 314, the highest figure over at least the past five years.

Tragically there was one Network Rail employee fatality in a road traffic accident at Kingussie in Scotland. No blame was attributed to the Network Rail vehicle driver. There was also a fatality to a sub-contractor employee who died when crushed between his lorry and a wall whilst delivering scaffolding to a Network Rail project site at Reading.

Slips, trips and falls remain consistently the most common cause of accident to Network Rail’s combined contractor workforce, accounting for approximately 30 per cent of all workforce injury accidents.

During 2011/12 there has been a significant improvement in the reporting of accidents. The average ratio of RIDDOR lost time to RIDDOR major accidents is now 3.2 to 1, in line with the benchmark ratio referenced in last year’s RSSB report. However, reporting levels amongst parts of the contractor workforce are still comparatively low. In particular, we believe reporting levels decrease further down the supply chain, which is an issue for both Network Rail and our principal contractors.