Lead by example to enhance site safety say Bull

Bradley Markham, director at Bull Products, believes strong leadership is vital to enhancing health and safety performance on site, as he shares his leadership tips on the subject.

This comes as stats released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show there were 30.7 million working days lost due to work-related ill health and non-fatal workplace injuries in 2017/18, with workplace injury and illness costing the economy around £15bn a year.

Create a positive working culture

An organisation’s attitudes and values towards a safe working environment can be managed and are significant factors that influence health and safety performance on site. It’s important to create a positive work culture as you are more likely to create a positive attitude towards compliance.

Sharing the bigger picture

Having a strategy in place helps you plan for the bigger picture. Data management, safety systems, and crucial health and safety equipment on site all form part of the wider plan to protect workers in the long-run.

Think about areas that need improvement and what you need to do to make a long-term change rather than a quick fix. To ensure your employees are on the same page and share the same vision, it is important to share the long-term plan with them too.

Risk and review

Challenge unsafe behaviour when health and safety reports are carried out, so that risks are noted and change can be implemented.

According to HSE, your site assessment and review should include identifying and managing health and safety risks, accessing (and following) competent advice and monitoring, reporting and reviewing performance.

Engage workers

Ensure high-quality health and safety training is provided to ensure staff are aware of hazards and risks to look out for and how to respond in an emergency.

Challenge workers by asking how they would solve problems, encourage feedback on ways to improve health and safety conditions, and engage workers in the achievement of safe conditions.

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The recent HSE figures confirm the scale of the challenge that the construction industry faces and emphasises there is still plenty to do to improve

A leader’s behaviour sends a strong message to your workers about how seriously they should take health and safety.

Injuries can happen at any time and they are unfortunate but what matters is how you deal with the situation, protect and engage staff, and deliver change to guarantee the risk is lowered next time around.