An audience of professionals from the construction, industrial and rail sectors joined together to take action on site health
25th April 2024
Robert Bradford, BAM Nuttall, opened the Action on Site Health Scotland 2024 at 9am on Wednesday 24th April 2024. We received over 150 registrations for the event, with people attending from the construction, Industrial and Rail sectors.
The event included; a fantastic line up of speakers, a construction health quiz, an action planning session, lots of opportunities to network, and plenty of good food!
Our opening presentation was from Robert Atkinson, Public Health Scotland (PHS). He explained that life expectancy for both men and women in Scotland is getting shorter. PHS believe that working to improve good mental health, good physical health, fair work, disability support and reducing the poverty gap will help improve economic activity, worker retention and overall life expectancy.
Kevin Bampton, BOHS, went on to share some shocking statistics from a brand new Scottish report. He explained that; occupational ill-health has increased by 50% over the past decade; Scotland's ill-health rate is growing faster than any other part of the UK; and 25% of workers in Scotland believe that their work is having a detrimental effect on their health.
On top of this, Kevin highlighted that far too many workers are willing to compromise their health, not realising that if they incapacitate themselves, it will have a terrible long-term financial impact. To put this into perspective, Kevin said that statistics indicate that 1 in 5 construction workers won't be able to pay off their mortgage.
Chris Steel, HSE, warned the audience that HSE Inspectors are going to look at workplace noise as part of the 2024/2025 inspection focus. He explained that hearing protection will be reviewed against C.U.F.F (Condition, Use, Fit the ear, Fit for purpose). He also went on to explain that you should be looking to reduce loudness, reduce duration and reduce worker exposure.
Kevin Dupont, RVT, started his presentation by showing a dust tool box talk video. He then focused on some of the points from the video, including; the hierarchy of control, the 3Cs, negative pressure dust extraction systems, and thorough examination and testing. Kevin also shared some examples of RVT kit in action and some free educational resources.
Michael Fitzgibbon, Balfour Beatty, shared a personal story about his time in the army, and he was pleased to share that none of his comrades got PTSD... or so they thought!
Fast forward a few years and an army friend phoned him at 2am; he answered and his friend was in absolute tears. Through the tears, he could make out a few words, and he realised that his friend was saying he couldn't cope and he was ready to take his own life. Michael was determined to help his friend in his hour of need, and he's please to say that his friend is still with us today.
Michael then moved into the construction industry and soon realised that mental health struggles aren't just owned by the forces. He has therefore been working to improve the awareness and support for mental health in construction. He also spoke about marginal gains; just focus on improving things 1% at a time and you can achieve massive improvements.
Lauren Miller, BAM Construct and Ventures UK, explained that positive changes only happen with the right leadership - and sometimes it is just important to educate up as it is to educate down the organisational structure! Lauren also sparked a great discussion around what actions people are going to take away from today's event. Everyone wrote a mini action plan that they could take away.
We are pleased to announce that Rachel MacQueen won our Construction Health Quiz and will be receiving a £50 Amazon Voucher as her prize!
Finally, Bob Bradford shared a host of useful resources. To access these (and more resources) please click below:
Diohas
Coniac
HCLG
Breathe Freely
Healthy Working Lives.scot
CITB
Construction Dust Partnership
IOSH
HSE
BSIF
Lighthouse Charity
Mates in Mind
RVT Dust Toolbox Talk
RVT Noise Toolbox Talk
RVT New Noise Control Whitepaper
All RVT resources
RVT would like to thank all of our speakers and everyone who attended.
To provide feedback on the event please click here.
To pre-register for future events, please click here.
