Reducing the dangers of dock work in the UK, 1899-1939: how past approaches could prevent future tragedies

In 1899 statistics collected by the British government, in the form of the Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops, included 115 fatal accidents on the UK docks, and many more serious and minor accidents. Forty years later in 1939, there were 69 fatalities. These are obviously still high figures compared to the UK's safety record today, but clearly a marked improvement had taken place.

In the second Hindsight Perspectives report, Reducing the dangers of dock work in the UK, 1899-1939: how past approaches could prevent future tragedies, Dr Guy Collender takes us through how these improvements were made, a combination of legislation and regulation, public attention, inspections, joint safety committees staffed by company representatives and unionised workers, and increasing buy-in from individuals and corporations. The motives of government were not purely humanitarian – the labour shortages following the First World War made the safety of the remaining workers an economic necessity. But still the story is one of progress and co-operation, and early twentieth-century experts' genuine desire to get to the heart of the problems is evident in their words over a hundred years later. The report details many problems and solutions that will be familiar to work health and safety professionals today.