Posted By JasonGould
Re-look at all the paperwork in these site offices and streamline them to be efficient, simple to use, easily manageable rather than the song and war epics aimed at covering backsides.

I go on a lot of sites to visit these managers and so far the spirit of H&S is actually getting through to most of the people whom I meet.

The biggest problem that I hear is regarding the 15 volumes of folders that just make peoples eyes glaze.

The usual one is the problem between getting information from the head office to the site manager. The HSE even state that interfaces create risk and I am actually starting to see what they mean.

They need a new set of tools and training so that they can actually concentrate on reducing risk and implementing some of the measures.

Its time for all Construction H&S folks to look at the tools they have given the site and ask themselves the following questions.

1. Can the site manager easily locate and store the required information relevant to his project.

2. Is it easy to understand with all the jargon etc removed.

3. Is there too much scattered form filling section located in different volumes.

I know we had to provide sites with more H&S info at one time and we all wanted to make sure they learned from it. The thing is ( My opinion only) We in some circumstances have swamped them and the head offices which makes the information hard to be located, communicated and used when it is needed.

That's one starting point I would look at

Posted By John Murgatroyd
Not enough supervision ?
Too much trust !
You send guys onto site to do a job. The job comes complete with a "method statement".
The method statement, both copies, is usually returned to a bin somewhere. Unread.

Posted By John Murgatroyd
By "unread into the bin", I mean just that. Unread because in many cases they are unrealistic. They sp[ecify a way and means of construction that is either SLOW, SLOWER or RIDICULOUS. Many trades ignore them. Totally.

The same with fall restraint, wearing them is ok...but not wearing them is a lot easier and faster. You can watch a site and see the problems occurring as the day goes on. Which is why many get hammered by inspections. All the inspectors have to do is park-up, and watch. It's money for old rope, even a complete idiot can spot them. I'm surprised that ANY site escapes. It is even more stupid when you consider that the primary contractor seems to think that they are not responsible for the sub-contractors, as would seem to be the case on many sites.

Posted By steven bentham
Paul

I agree that it is poor that construction accidents are and will continue to go up.

Perhaps we could examine causes closer to home in IOSH:

(1) you have only to look at a large number of the quality of the questions posted and ask yourself are we dealing with the causes of fatal accidents on our own discussion forum?

(2) who is responsible for the volume of paperwork that construction managers have to deal with?

(3) are we as safety advisers/coordinators/managers up to the job?

Posted By John Murgatroyd
"Do I gather from you last link that these safety systems, control procedures and people upset you?

slow, slower and safer perhaps?

Easier, faster and unsafe may also be something that pleases people"

You forget. You're dealing with a myriad of trades here/there, many of who never communicate with each other and are only aware of who has been there by what has been done or by reference to the slots allocated in the construction process.

When things get tight, some other things have to go faster or get put off 'til later.
Putting things off 'til later means that the tradespeople that should have done THAT job may not be available to do it later. The pressure is on getting EACH job done when it is supposed to be done. So, the onus is on the main contractor and each subcontractor to make sure the process continues. Something has to give, and safety is frequently the thing. It is one of lifes unpalatable facts.

Not to mention that many people don't speak english on sites now....and some of them were born here !