Not so the Midas Group. The company is making sure that every worker it employs, directly or indirectly, is acting safely on site. As well as sending every one of its site-based staff on a five-day health and safety course, it has spent the last 12 months developing a programme for its own supply chain, holding workshops for 60 key subcontractors on writing risk assessments and method statements.
Steve Russell, director of Midas Technical Services, says there is a lack of understanding among subcontractors, particularly the smaller ones, about how to compile health and safety documentation, which makes keeping a safe site more difficult.
"The bigger mechanical and electrical contractors are okay with the documentation, but the smaller, local contractors find it more daunting," he explains.
"They are frightened by the jargon, which means they don't write the documentation as well as they could and the message doesn't get to their workers. They start off with the best of intentions but the message gets lost somewhere along the way, and that can compromise safety."
Russell adds that while the workshops aren't compulsory, Midas is in the process of rationalising its supply chain and a refusal to participate would not be looked on favourably.
Each workshop has 30 subbies, and runs from 7:30 to 9:30am. It's an early start, acknowledges Russell, but it gives the participants the chance to do a day's work afterwards. About half an hour is spent on legal issues before the attendees are split up into small groups to write a risk assessment together for the remainder of the time.
My assessments are now short and sweet, not long and laborious
Midas has carried out two workshops so far, in Devon and Cornwall. Reaction to them has been mixed. Ian Titherleigh is the managing director of Elmgate Engineering, a company with a £350,000 turnover which has been working with Midas for 20 years. He says the workshop has been very useful.
"I used to write too much detail in my method statements, and they would take me hours to do," he says. "From doing this workshop, I've learnt to condense them and just put the relevant information in. This has improved site safety because my workers are now more likely to read the method statement! This means they are more aware of what is going on, and have a better focus on the job.
"I'd definitely advise others to go along if they want to carry on doing what we do and be safe. And it's already helped me in my business. My assessments are now short and sweet instead of long and laborious."
But Ray Elliot, whose £500,000 turnover bricklaying firm of the same name has worked with Midas for a year, isn't as enthusiastic.
"It's the way the industry is going so it's got to be done to keep up with that," he says. "I didn't learn a great deal. There wasn't time to cover everything - it just gave you an idea of what to do."
He does admit to some benefits, though. "It has helped me to be more concise in my method of writing up. This doesn't come naturally to a bricklayer, as all the information is in my head. It's just a case of getting it down onto paper.
Source
Construction Manager
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