b"Construction in the 1980sHealth and SafetyThe early 1980s saw site safety begin to improve after the 'Health and Safety at Work Act' was introduced in the 70s. However, statistics from 1981 were still showing 7.9 fatalities for every 100,000 construction workers.Following the public release of these figures, the decade saw a great push for improved safety on sites. The use of hard hats was being heavily enforced with workers also being warned by the British Safety Council about the dangers of using old and unsafe tools. With this and the 'Noise at Work Regulation' coming into force, safety on sites continued to improve over the years.Construction MachineryPlant equipment switched focus in the 1980s to more compact vehicles. Noise levels, gas emissions and safety became prevalent in the design of new machinery.With this, Caterpillar released their first line of compact construction equipment. This included plant such as compact wheel loads and mini excavators as well as a range of purpose-built attachments. They then introduced their first backhoe loader, the 416, in early 1985. The development of this machine was focused mainly on the use of improved technology and overall quality.JCB also released their own 3CX Sitemaster Backhoe Loader in 1985 as they worked hard to keep up with the advancements in machinery. This went on to be their biggest selling backhoe as they produced over 100,000 in that year alone. Following this, JCB bought out the worlds fastest backhoe loader in 1998 - the JCB GT. This was showcased to a wider audience and wowed crowds at the 1988 British Grand Prix, reaching speeds of 100mph.The Natta Group was also expanding in the construction machinery field with the formation of Natta Plant in 1988. This has now grown to become one of the largest privately-owned plant fleets in the South of England."