Jun 30 2006
The use of aircrete is being promoted by H+H Celcon as the company's support to the Health & Safety Executive's current concern about the level of injuries sustained on building sites.
One of the six key elements which the HSE is focusing on is manual handling of heavy blocks. H+H Celcon is highlighting the fact that aircrete's cellular structure ensures that Celcon blocks are often less than half the weight of an equivalent strength aggregate block but can support up to four storeys without a structural frame. The Construction Industry Advisory Committee (CONIAC) believes that the risk of injury is largely determined by the weight of a block. The heavier the block, the higher the risk. Most sizes of Celcon block come within the CONIAC 20kg handling limit for a one-person repetitive lift, and provide significant productivity, as well as health and safety benefits.
All Celcon blocks are BBA certified with Celcon Foundation blocks and the H+H Celcon Thin-Joint System having LABC type approval. Celcon aircrete blocks are suitable for walls, foundations and to infill beam and block flooring. They have excellent thermal and acoustic insulation properties and when used with H+H Celcon's Thin-Joint System, which uses a quick-setting mortar, can speed the construction process significantly. Celcon aircrete is also easy to cut and off-cuts can be used elsewhere on a project. This reduces onsite-waste, another potential cause of accidents on site.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recently released figures which show that last year there were 3,760 major injuries to employees in the industry and some 7,509 injuries which resulted in employees taking more than three days off work. From a commercial point of view, 2.8m working days were lost as a result of accidents.