I remain unrepentant in his stand against dirty, dangerous sites
It seems my comments last month about slobs touched a raw nerve with some people who just failed to understand my point.

I was accused of running the industry down. It doesn't need me to do that. At times it is perfectly capable of doing it for itself - and with great success.

I have just started my fourth year with the institute so I still see the industry as a relative outsider. I get told often that I have a lot to learn. But that is my point. I have the same perspective as the 55 million people in the country not engaged in construction.

Seeing grotty construction sites says an awful lot about the people who run the site and it's the memory of those grotty sites that tends to obscure the well-managed and therefore invisible sites.

To those who criticised me... tough

Chris Blythe

The biggest threat to the construction industry - in terms of recruiting the bright and young- is itself. Who wants to stand next to a dirty and dusty building worker on the tube or train home? Who wants to be embarrassed about the condition they are in and the nuisance they are causing?

I saw a programme recently that stated that less than 200 Allied servicemen died in the Gulf War - and only half by enemy action. The rest? Accidents or friendly fire. Compare that with construction.

Source

Construction Manager

Postscript

Chris Blythe is chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Building