This October, a nationwide campaign will be encouraging firms in the construction industry to pause work and focus on health, safety and wellbeing.
The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) will be using their long-running Stop. Make a Change campaign to highlight 3 key health and safety risks in the civil engineering sector.
These risks are:
- Serious injuries and fatalities
- Serious work-related health conditions
- Mental health issues
The campaign has been running since 2017, with over 500,000 employers and employees taking part, and has received endorsements from across the sector, including from the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
It features free resources to provide practical support for companies operating in the infrastructure, construction and built environment sectors, as well as free events, webinars and learning opportunities.
Down tools for health, safety and wellbeing
The key principle of the campaign is that construction companies should temporarily down tools or halt work for a designated period (for example, an hour-long session) in order to engage their teams in critical discussions about health, safety and wellbeing at work.
Running throughout October, its aim is to encourage and help companies to protect their workforce, colleagues, and the general public.
The campaign will highlight key serious injuries and fatalities, targeting high-risk situations and identifying and controlling hazards before they cause severe harm. It will also focus on key health challenges caused or made worse by work which can be life-threatening or even fatal.
Finally, the campaign also explores mental health in the workplace, and particularly the mental health implications for those impacted by health and safety risks and failures, and their families, friends and colleagues.
Organisations who are participating in Stop. Make a Change (SMAC-26) can share their actions on social media using the hashtags #SMAC26 and #StopMakeAChange.
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