22 July 2014

Costain recently held a 'safety stand down' day on the M1 J28-31 Project for the Highways Agency.

The team stood down from site on this motorway improvement scheme to attend the one-day event in Staveley, Derbyshire. The 350 attendees included representatives from the Highways Agency, designers Mouchel and supply chain partners as well as direct operatives, supervisors and engineers.

The day was designed to provide a high impact safety message to the entire site team focussed on a theme of behavioural safety.

The day started with a series of presentations from the Project Management team including feedback on the recent climate survey and information about current safety trends on the site. Costain’s CBS team also presented some examples of how the behavioural approach to safety works including examples of some recent successes on the M1.

The event continued with a fictional scenario played out by actors illustrating the potential impact that a serious safety failure could have on the M1 Project – in this case an unqualified driver hitting an operative  whilst driving an overladen dumper. The actors (in character) also faced questions and challenges from the floor, with some heated exchanges ensuing. The fictional scenario concluded with a courtroom scene featuring Gerard Forlin QC, a specialist Health & Safety barrister, who then went on to talk about current trends emerging from recent cases.

There was a sobering conclusion to the day as Paul Blanchard, a construction worker paralysed from the chest down following a fall from height in 2010 spoke of his personal story and brought home the human cost that an accident at work can have.

Arun Sahni, the Highways Agency's representative on the project, said: “It’s great to see Costain taking the initiative to promote behavioural safety on this scheme. The level of commitment and investment in the day has sent a clear message to everyone involved in the project that safety is our top priority.”

 

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