Carillion 'Don't Walk By' scheme reaps rewards

Carillion believes it is preventing up to four serious injuries a year on its sites thanks to the introduction of its "Don't Walk By" safety campaign.
The scheme was introduced at Carillion four years ago to encourage employees and subcontractors to point out unsafe working practices and site conditions.
Barry Quatermass, IMS director at Carillion, told delegates at last week's Contract Journal and Commercial Motor Driving Accidents Down conference that he estimates the 2,000 annual "Don't Walk By" reports and their associated remedial actions prevent 100 minor injuries and three or four major injuries.
"Everything we do on health and safety now sits under the 'Don't Walk By' brand. It applies to everyone in the company," said Quatermass. "At the end of every board meeting the directors ask: 'Have we walked by anything that may have a negative impact on safety.'
"Focusing on health and safety in a human, not procedural, way has empowered people and led to some real safety improvements."
What started as a simple poster campaign has evolved into a cultural transformation at Carillion. The latest innovations include "Don't Walk By" walk-abouts, where a selected group of workers are asked to down tools and conduct a site audit. And the company is also introducing "Take Five". "At 10am a hooter sounds, and everyone takes five minutes to tidy their workspace and record anything that looks out of place," said Quatermass.
Carillion feeds back safety improvements to its workers with noticeboards recording "what you said and what we did".