Stop. Make a Change

Thousands take part in new initiative to help drive health, safety and well-being in the construction sector

EARLIER this week, some 60,000 people from across UK infrastructure joined forces to help drive better health, safety and well-being in the sector.

On the morning of Tuesday 18 April, more than 1,000 sites, office and production facilities across the country took part in ‘Stop. Make a Change’, a cross-industry stand-down to tackle some of the key health and safety challenges faced by the sector.

It is believed to have been the largest stand-down event ever undertaken in the UK construction sector.

Since it was launched in November 2016, over 50 organizations – from the sector’s largest customers and contractors to small and specialist SMEs – have signed up to support the initiative, with more than 30 of them making specific commitments.

The commitments relate to four priorities that have been chosen by a panel of industry experts, namely mental health, fatigue, plant safety and respiratory health. Each organization has chosen commitments that will focus on improving performance within its business, supporting better outcomes for employees in each area.

But as well as their own employees, organizations taking part have been engaging with their supply chain partners, which resulted in some 3,000 other companies getting involved in the day’s events.

Stop. Make a Change has been supported by CITB’s Structured Fund as part of Infrastructure 21, a Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA)-led project to help ensure that civils suppliers are primed and ready for expected growth in the sector in the coming years.

CECA chief executive Alasdair Reisner said: ‘When we first started planning Stop. Make a Change, we hoped that we might get up to 10 companies and a few thousand employers involved in this first year. The response from industry has been tremendous, with a real desire to use the event as an opportunity to deliver positive change across the sector.’

CEMEX UK’s health and safety director, Andy Taylor, commented: ‘We are delighted to be taking part in the Stop. Make a Change campaign. We are the first building materials supplier to sign up and would urge other companies in our sector to become part of this outstanding initiative.’

Organizations involved in Stop. Make a Change will provide feedback on the impact that the commitments they have made have had upon their businesses, with best practice to be shared between all contributing organizations later this year.