What a shower!

A row broke out at Canary Wharf in April over the dishevelled appearance of workers at the site, resulting in a ban on anyone in site clothes entering the shopping centre. Although many workers at the Wharf sympathised with the construction workers' plight, it highlighted the nervousness the industry still feels over its image. But do the workers share the management's concerns? Do they want better facilities such as showers?

A Respect for People report published in November 2000 condemned the poor standard of site facilities. But 18 months on, what has changed? Not much, says David Hardy, general manager of the Considerate Constructors scheme, which monitors 15% of sites across the UK. "The provision of showers and changing rooms is very poor. And this includes some of the biggest sites in the country, not just the smaller ones. Companies we talk to who provide temporary facilities tell us that their services are very popular in other industries but not construction."

Adrian Terry, project manager of Respect for People, agrees. "Welfare facilities are not planned in, they are an afterthought and as such not dealt with effectively."

Welfare is a priority for the Health & Safety Executive, and no one would argue that some of the sites it visits need improvement. It has just completed a blitz on London building sites, where 10% of the enforcement action out of 110 notices was on welfare.

"Some contractors, mainly the larger ones, spend a lot of time and effort on welfare facilities but others just aren't up to 21st century standards," said Barry Mullen, the inspector in charge of the operation. "We had to serve a prohibition notice on a site because there was a risk of dermatitis due to poor washing facilities. Others provided facilities but weren't maintaining or cleaning them.

"The industry is moving slowly in the right direction, but this welfare law has been around for some time now. It's not expensive or difficult to do something and it's disappointing that we are still having to investigate poor welfare provision."

There are isolated examples of best practice, such as Woolgate Exchange, a Movement for Innovation demonstration project in the City of London, where good welfare provision reduced staff turnover by 40%. GSK House, GlaxoSmithKline's headquarters in West London, was nicknamed the M4 Hilton by subcontractors because of the high level of welfare facilities.

Once they’ve finished all they want is to go home. They don’t want to hang around for a shower

Simon Turner, marketing manager of Rovacabin, which provides temporary site accommodation, says contractors' attitudes have changed over the last two years. "We have noticed a difference in quality on larger projects. Traditionally the construction industry just saw a cabin as a cabin and went for the cheapest option. But we are now seeing a strong trend towards more high-end products."

But just putting in the facilities is not enough, says Hardy; workers also need to be re-educated. "The culture in the industry, for whatever reason, has been to not use showers. So it's no good contractors just putting in showers and saying no one uses them so why bother."

Abuse of facilities is also a problem, says Hardy. Vandalism and theft are commonplace, but one contractor on the Considerate Contractors scheme has come up with a way of preventing this. Workers have to hand over a £5 deposit before they get the showerhead and connecting hose.

Terry argues it's more a case of the workers not being consulted. "We are trialling site toolkits and workers tell us that it is the first time they have been asked about facilities. The management on site say there is no point in putting in showers or changing rooms because they get abused or that the workers don't ask for them, but that is because they are never consulted. Like any asset, the facilities need to be managed properly."

But do the workers want showers? Brickwork contractor Irvine Whitlock says not. Construction director John Whitlock says his bricklayers wouldn't use showers. "Once they've finished all they're interested in is going home. They don't want to hang around to have a shower."

Commercial director Paul Dewick adds that where showers are installed on site, management are more likely to use them than operatives.