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28 February 2005 - Progress Review Summit
for Construction Health and Safety
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A Construction Health and Safety Summit took place last week to
review the progress of the commitment made by the industry at the 2001
Construction Summit.
Commitments on cultural health and safety changes within the
construction industry were based on a 5 to 10 year target in the 2001 summit, of
which there has been progress shown.
In order to continue with improvements, a framework "Respect for
People", has been introduced by the Strategic Forum, highlighting areas which
the industry will focus on for continuing success, such as the following:
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Behavioural change
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Occupational health and rehabilitation
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Design
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Corporate and individual competence
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Integrated working and worker engagement
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Benchmarking and sharing best practice.
UK Minister for Work and Pensions, speaking at the summit said:
"I welcome the progress the industry made so far, but it is
falling short of the challenging targets it set itself in 2001. The Construction
Summit in 2001 was a watershed for many in accepting ownership for the
industry's health and safety performance. The commitment to challenging 5- and
10-year targets for improvement was courageous and demonstrated the
determination within the industry to drive through cultural change.
"One of the aims of today's event is to celebrate progress
since then. I congratulate the industry on what has been achieved - but we must
not lose sight of continuing failures. I want to see stakeholders to take
ownership of the health and safety challenges, show leadership in taking action
and forge new partnerships to accelerate health and safety improvements."
Chair of the Health and Safety Commission commented:
"You, the construction industry, committed yourself to
challenging targets at the 2001 Construction Summit. We are now at a critical
stage, the industry is changing for the better and has achieved the lowest
incident rates on record, but we cannot become complacent. If the industry is to
meet its Revitalising targets, it needs to commit to further actions, be
innovative, and above all respect the industry's most valuable asset, its
workforce.
"I welcome the 'Respect for People' code of practice, which I
see as key in marking out the improvements we are looking for. The eight leading
issues identified by the code are relevant to everyone, in all companies, in all
sectors. They have come from you, the industry, those who are best placed to
know where the greatest impact can be made. Through ownership, leadership and
partnership in the leading issues you have identified, I am convinced that we
can continue to make progress in the years ahead."
The "Respect for People" code of practice can be accessed by
clicking the following:
Construction: Strategic Forum Code of Practice
The Construction Discussion Forum can be accessed by clicking
the following:
HSE Construction Discussion Forum
Article by Alexandra Johnston
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