Tips for maintaining a safe and healthy workplace

Health and safety is now a fundamental business priority for any construction company. More than ever operatives are made aware of the risks they face and how, by careful management, the potential for accidents can be greatly reduced. Every firm now takes safety seriously, but those that make it a key discipline have found it can have a real business impact.

Many companies are taking it upon themselves to introduce specific safety schemes, as well as adhering to legislation, to reduce the number of incidents year-on-year and demonstrate their commitment to clients.

Mike Stott, safety, health, environment and assurance director at May Gurney, describes how it is applying its safety policy. "'Making a Difference' is a peer-to-peer training and risk recognition programme, which allows operatives to exercise their skills in recognising work hazards that may be missed by supervisors and managers who are not present 100% of the time."

This has had a year-on-year reduction in incidents. "Our accident frequency rate, which measures the number of serious accidents per 100,000 man- hours, is just 0.15 - a reduction of 75% from the figure in 2004 (0.6). This has also seen a reduction in accident costs and positively impacted on the bottom line."

Stott feels that May Gurney compares well with the rest of the industry. "The company is at the forefront of behavioural safety and near-miss reporting and consequently our accident performance is among the best in the industry," he claims. "We've seen a reduction in real terms in insurance premiums. And having excellent safety records and having a demonstrable commitment to improving on-site safety has certainly made it easier to get on tender lists for work."

Meanwhile, Shepherd Construction has introduced a 'discussion environment' in an effort to reduce injuries. Its SUSA (Safe and Unsafe Acts) scheme encourages discussion between workers and management, and a sharing of safety philosophy. Shepherd has also achieved ISO 18001 Safety Management Registration, and finds that this means clients have greater confidence in it.

Culture-based safety

Rob Smith, Shepherd Construction's technical director, explains: "Culture- based safety is visible on-site through the SUSA programme. The approach was introduced two years ago using a programme adapted by us to suit the industry. It is aimed at reducing accidents by altering behaviour, in particular by encouraging a discussion environment between workers and management.

"SUSA discussions are now embedded into the Shepherd safety culture. The interactive discussions between workers and management encourage individuals to recognise and adopt safe behaviours - it helps to make individuals aware of the real risk of injury they face and demonstrates to them that they can prevent their own next accident."

And the programme has reduced both injuries and fatalities. "Since it was introduced, our accident frequency rate - which includes all subcontractors as well as employees - has virtually halved. The company is working towards a further 20% reduction over the next 12 months," reports Smith.

In 2007, Clugston Construction recorded a 12-month RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995) free period, no mean achievement for two million worker hours, by implementing an extensive safety policy.

Mark Atkinson, of Clugston's health and safety team, describes the results of its policies. "With our commitment to employing qualified workforce (CSCS) on site, the health surveillance undertaken by site workers and the workers' participation in reporting 'near miss' situations we are close to achieving the goal of having no accidents or incidents on site. As well as achieving a RIDDOR-free year in 2007, 33 of the 39 projects worked on in the year had a zero all-injury rate."

Workforce participation

Encouraging workforce participation has become a cornerstone of the scheme, which includes designing safety slogans and posters. The company also acknowledges language issues and makes translations of site rules and regulations. Should accidents or incidents occur, these are conveyed by a series of 'news flashes' throughout the chain from clients to subcontractors, to ensure that recurrences of incidents are prevented.

Supply chain procurement extends its commitment to safety, and includes all subcontractors - in 2005/06 one of Clugston's M&E contractors had five RIDDOR accidents. Helping the contractor to share the company's goals, it has now become one of the safest in Clugston's supply chain.

Senior management action tours keep individual site managers on their toes - a group, which includes the chief executive and managing director, visits live projects with checklists provided by the company's H&S team using the previous six month's 'near miss' reports as their guide to evaluating improvements.

Clugston's adherence to these policies has resulted in no notices from the HSE's site visits in the past six years.

And safety improvements have a financial benefit too, as Atkinson explains. "We have seen our safety performance provide a very positive impression on clients, particularly in the petrochem and industrial environments, where it has undoubtedly been a key factor in both selection to tender and in some instances to moving immediately into negotiation.

"Analysis of business risk contributes to our insurers' determination of our annual premium - safety performance is a significant element in this assessment and has contributed to our insurers' positive view of the risk profile of the business."

Ongoing discussion throughout a business will encourage individuals to adopt safe practice.

SAFETY WHATEVER IT TAKES! BE SAFE

Garry Black, managing director of Balfour Kilpatrick, says that over the last couple of years a primary focus for safety of its business has been to influence the safety behaviours of its people and supply chain partners through its Whatever it Takes! Be Safe programme, developed in-house.

"An example of this was an intervention training module rolled out across the whole of our business. The module was scripted and acted by members of our workforce using examples of unsafe behaviour that they had come across. Its aim was to demonstrate that there are many ways individuals can intervene or take action when they are exposed to unsafe conditions or activities. The module also encourages our people to intervene when they see other stakeholders potentially at risk."

A year-on-year incident reduction has been the result of its policies. "Over the last 10 years we have seen a 76% improvement in our Accident Frequency Rate," adds Black.

He believes the demonstration of the firm's commitment to improving not only its health and safety credentials but also assisting its supply chain partners to reach improving targets gives clients reassurance of its dedication to the pursuit of safety excellence.

"Additionally, our campaign has also focused upon 'safety by design' and we have seen our customers welcome our efforts to influence their designs by suggesting alternative solutions aimed at minimising construction risks," Black adds.