A frantic Monday morning has solved all the ills of the construction industry. Or at least, that's rather what reactions to this week's hastily arranged safety summit appeared to suggest.
A framework for progress, coupled with handing it over to the Strategic Forum, should see a clear way ahead for everyone - a total solution. Industry fatalities and injuries will fall as a result, and it will have been a success.
Sorry if we're sounding a bit underwhelmed by the whole thing - or even, dare we say it, rather negative. We're just not convinced that a morning of talking can produce a magic bullet that will help the whole industry.
In a year when fatalities have been an all-too regular occurrence, embracing anything that will help is a good thing. And no doubt, everyone involved in this week's summit did it with the very best of intentions, and is wholeheartedly committed to improving things.
But is it really going to lead to any progress? If it has taken 33 years of the Health and Safety at Work legislation to sink in - and we're still struggling with it - what hope have we of changing things after a half-day summit? Yes, those in the industry who are completely on board with health and safety will up their standards ever further. But what about the huge number of companies who are not members of any employers organisations, who have no allegiance to any industry body, or who are simply 'lucky' in their haphazard approach to health and safety? How will the message reach those people?
Like many industries, construction reacts more rapidly to the stick than the carrot. Tackling deaths on site needs a hard-hitting approach from the HSE - starting with more inspections. It will mean more government investment for sure, but if it is the only way to help drive down deaths, it must be the only way ahead. The HSE's budget has fallen year-on-year since 2002 and now we are seeing the result.
The only way to make progress is to step up inspections, stop the talking and just get on with making the industry a safer place - even if it costs more in the short term.
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