Unsafe construction sites in Cumbria are being targeted in a month-long campaign of unannounced visits to building sites by inspectors.
The Health and Safety Executive said three people were killed and 94 workers injured in the construction industry in Cumbria last year.
Inspectors are now pouncing on sites across the North West, where eight workers died and 1,000 were injured in the year 2009-10.
They want to cut accidents in one of Britains most dangerous industries.
Half of the deaths occurred during refurbishment, repair and maintenance activities, as opposed to new-build projects.
Those areas will be the main focus of the inspections, which run until March 11.
Firms not meeting the standards in areas like people working at height could face large fines.
Inspectors will also be looking to see if the risk of exposure to residual asbestos is properly managed and if there has been a survey to check for asbestos, which is in many older buildings.
During a campaign last year, 100 of the 343 sites inspectors visited in the North West failed their safety inspections.
A total of 144 prohibition notices were issued to stop work activities immediately, with more than 40 per cent relating to working at height.
Allen Shute, HSE inspector for construction, said: This will be the fifth year that we have run the inspection initiative and we expect that there will be examples of both good and bad practice those where employers are taking all the measures they can to protect their workers, and those where safety is way down the list of priorities.
A lax attitude to health and safety in one of Britains more dangerous industries is not acceptable, especially when many of the incidents are completely avoidable by taking commonsense actions and precautions. We will not hesitate to take action if we find poor practice that is putting the lives of workers at risk.
In the year 2009-10, there was one death and 12 injuries in construction in Barrow, seven injuries in Copeland, and one death and 28 injuries in South Copeland.
To ensure that your refurbishment project is not stopped by the HSE because of anything to do with asbestos, contact the experts, AMS Ltd. With branches in North East and North West England we can give you advice, training, asbestos surveys and asbestos remediation project management services from the Central Belt of Scotland to the Midlands and North Wales. Visit our website for more details and our contact details.