I’d like to share with you my great concern regarding the upturn in Health and Safety incidents we are suffering.  As you should be aware, earlier this month a truckmixer driver working on our behalf was involved in a fatal road traffic incident in which an elderly pedestrian tragically lost his life. In addition, during the last 3 months, 1 of our employees and 5 of our contractors have suffered injuries that have required hospital treatment. This is a trend that saddens me deeply.

When reviewing our incidents so far this year there are some common issues:

• 6 of our 8 most serious injuries have involved contractors, 5 of these were drivers, including 4 of our truckmixer Independent Haulage Contractors.
• 3 of the incidents involved hand injuries, whilst another 3 resulted from slips, trips and falls.
• the vast majority resulted from some form of unsafe behaviour, either not reporting or reacting to previous near misses, not taking the time to Stop & Think about the necessary precautions before starting a job or when circumstances change, not following established safe systems of work, letting production take priority over safety or, as in the most recent case, deliberately breaking the site safety rules.
• All were avoidable.

We cannot allow this injury trend to continue; collectively we are failing to follow the first of our Safety Essentials, to “Look After Ourselves and Each Other”. Together we must stop any further injuries. I need you to take time to think and discuss in your teams whether there is more we can do to safeguard each other. Some things I would ask you to do with immediate effect include:

• Look after all drivers, ensuring they receive a proper induction when arriving on any of our sites.
• Identify opportunities to reduce the potential for hand injuries and ensure you always wear suitable gloves in operational areas.
• Consider whether the routes you use around the workplace can be improved to reduce the risk of slips, trips and falls and always use 3 points of contact on steps and stairways.
• Always follow the Safety Essentials, safe systems of work and any site safety rules. Take the time to Stop & Think how you might be injured before starting a job or if things change.
• Pay special attention to the behaviour of contractors and always STEP IN if you see anything unsafe.

The specific details of the incidents we have suffered have been shared via Safety Alerts, it is important that we learn everything we can from Safety Alerts and close out any gaps if we are to prevent further suffering.

I look forward to your support to getting us back to ZERO injuries performance. Remember there is nothing more important than your health and safety and the health and safety of those around you!

I would appreciate if you can reply to this blog with your comments as well as reiterating your commitment to Health and Safety.

Together we can make a difference

STAY SAFE

JESUS