“Fantastic”, “Fascinating” and “Top Drawer”; A Look Back at Action on Site Health – North

On the 9^th November, senior construction industry professionals gathered in person, to attend the Action on Site Health – North event at Chester Racecourse. Hosted by RVT Group, this event was supported by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Health in Construction Leadership (HCLG), British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS), UK Hearing Conservation Association (UKHCA) and The Construction Dust Partnership (CDP).

Speakers, supporters, and attendees all arrived with a common goal; to discuss the steps the industry can – and must - take to better protect the health of those on site.

After a tasty breakfast, attendees were welcomed by RVT Group director, Julian Hayward, who then passed over to the host for the day, Colin Nottage (CDP, The Interesting Health and Safety Podcast).

Colin introduced a first-class line up of speakers, comprising of Dylan Roberts (SKANSKA), George Mosey (Laing O’ Rourke), Mark Ashby (HSE), Dr David Fishwick (HSE), Kevin Bampton (BOHS), Kevin Dupont (RVT Group), Ian Strudley (Balfour Beatty), Mark Blundy (Bowmer & Kirkland) and Fiona King (HS2).

The first session saw Dylan Roberts discuss the importance of planning and designing out. Dylan stressed that this was not about preventing hazard producing activities such as cutting and grinding, but reducing how often we require them, therefore creating a safer on-site environment. When looking at site operatives carrying out these kinds of activities, Dylan advised “we need to change our mindset. We need to think ‘why are they having to do that’?” to head off potentially hazardous situations in the design stage.

George Mosey followed, discussing the importance of embracing Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) with particular focus on MSDs, and how this use of technology and off-site manufacturing can preserve and protect the health of the workforce. He outlined Laing O’ Rourke’s off-site journey and their 70:60:30 approach to Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA). To close his presentation, George called on all attendees, asking how we can all “collectively accelerate our experience of MMC to realise the significant H&S benefits?”

We then heard from Mark Ashby who highlighted the HSE’s role around mental health in construction, noting that every single working day in the UK, 2 construction workers take their own life. He also told us that stress, depression, and anxiety accounts for 27% of all work-related illness in construction industry. In light of these shocking statistics, Mark spoke about the HSE’s “Working Minds” campaign which specifically targets SMEs on how to support and protect their employees’ mental health.

After a lively networking and refreshment break, it was time for the event’s keynote speech. Dr David Fishwick is a highly experienced lung surgeon and Chief Medical Advisor to the HSE. In his presentation, David expressed how important it is that you look after your lungs; “you only get two”. Through a range of hard-hitting case studies, he explained that, though our lungs are incredibly sophisticated, they have limited means of screening what enters them. This can lead to a build up of hazardous material, such as dust, and cause devastating illnesses such as cancer and COPD. Therefore, it is vital that respiratory health is protected on site.

Kevin Bampton followed this by outlining the new revisions in the report from the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) to which BOHS contributed heavily; "Silica – the Next Asbestos?". Kevin stressed that investment in health now is “good business” and that those present at the AOSH event were prime examples of those who could be real “vehicles for change” on how the industry views health.

Kevin Dupont, then outlined RVT’s highly effective “3Cs” method which can be applied to a range of hazards, including dust, fume and noise; “If we can’t eliminate or substitute hazards, then we must capture, contain and control!” Kevin also explained the types of compliant solutions that can be used to protect people and the environment, such as mobile LEV units, dust suppression, enclosures and negative pressure set ups.

After this, Colin Nottage was joined by Ian Strudley, Mark Blundy and Fiona King for a spirited discussion about live case studies and initiatives that have been implemented on site within their respective organisations. A wide range of topics were discussed, from mental health on site to the importance of tool selection and investment to ensure safety and efficiency. Whilst the focus of the event was to show what more we must do to protect health on site, Ian also mentioned the industry’s achievements within the last ten years, most notably stopping use of disposable respirators.

This was followed by another networking session and a delicious buffet lunch for all attendees to enjoy before the event closed.

The RVT events team enjoyed the event and were delighted with the feedback received both in person and via LinkedIn; representatives from BAM Construct Ltd and 1974rapport Ltd have branded the event as “fantastic”, “fascinating” and “top drawer”, for example.

It was wonderful to see so many people gathered with the common goal of achieving better protection for all aspects of site health. A huge thank you to the speakers the supporters and the attendees for making this event a great success.

Resources and speaker presentations from the event can be found here.