Summit held to tackle occupational health issues
On 21st January 2016, a summit meeting of 171 industry chief executives and senior leaders gathered to sign a pledge committing their organisations to ‘eliminate occupational ill health and disease in [my] company and from the industry.’
The Committing Construction to a Healthier Future summit was held in response to the drive towards parity of focus and attention between health issues and safety, which speakers asserted had long been inadequately balanced. The statistics painted a stark picture of how much improvement needs to be made to redress these ongoing issues:
- Work-related cancers kill around 3,500 construction workers a year, three times higher than in any other employment sector.
- 500,000 working days were lost to injury in 2014/15, but 1.2 mn to work-related ill health.
- Work-related ill health cost the UK economy £9.4 bn in 2014/15, and the construction sector £1.3 bn.
- Asbestos-induced diseases kill 20 tradespeople each week.
Organised by the new Health in Construction Leadership Group (CHLG), the campaign plans to develop an action strategy to debate at a follow-up summit in April 2016. The plan is to focus on existing measures that are known to have some success, such as more on-site health risks being designed out by specialists, and to mandate the use of new measuring technology to monitor and record progress in areas such as emissions and dust.
One of the central figures behind the campaign and Balfour Beatty’s director of health and safety, Heather Bryant said: “Today is about equalising health with safety because we not only want to leave a legacy in the things we construct, but a legacy for the people who help construct them. We are constructing the health, or the ill health, of the future. We are still exposing people to asbestos and other hazards, and we have three times as many occupational cancers as in any other sector.”
Crossrail’s then chief executive Andrew Wolstenholme, said: “...major programmes carry a responsibility for tackling health risks, and [Crossrail] have trialed innovations such as ‘digibands’ for workers to monitor the impact of shift patterns, and using robotic drills to eliminate worker exposure to hand-arm vibration and dust through drilling….It’s no good giving people fruit and porridge as they come through the turnstile if we’re then giving them exposure to dust and carcinogens”.
The CHLG was established in 2015, and the chair Clive Johnson pointed out that a main objective would be to unravel confusion surrounding the terms ‘occupational health’, ‘well-being’ and ‘occupational hygiene’, which is concerned with the removal or modification of workplace risks.
Featured articles and news
Airtightness in raised access plenum floors
New testing guidance from BSRIA out now.
Picking up the hard hat on site or not
Common factors preventing workers using head protection and how to solve them.
Building trust with customers through endorsed trades
Commitment to quality demonstrated through government endorsed scheme.
New guidance for preparing structural submissions for Gateways 2 and 3
Published by the The Institution of Structural Engineers.
CIOB launches global mental health survey
To address the silent mental health crisis in construction.
New categories in sustainability, health and safety, and emerging talent.
Key takeaways from the BSRIA Briefing 2024
Not just waiting for Net Zero, but driving it.
The ISO answer to what is a digital twin
Talking about digital twins in a more consistent manner.
Top tips and risks to look out for.
New Code of Practice for fire and escape door hardware
Published by GAI and DHF.
Retrofit of Buildings, a CIOB Technical Publication
Pertinent technical issues, retrofit measures and the roles involved.
New alliance will tackle skills shortage in greater Manchester
The pioneering Electrotechnical Training and Careers Alliance.
Drone data at the edge: three steps to better AI insights
Offering greater accuracy and quicker access to insights.
From fit-out to higher-risk buildings.
Heritage conservation in Calgary
The triple bottom line.