This week I attended the Mental Health Summit run by Get Construction Talking.

The stats are stark; we lose two people to suicide every day in construction. The industry is, when at its best, an amazing place to work, but not for everyone and not all the time.  We all know that relentless programmes, poor payment practices, the race to the bottom, erratic work patterns, location dependence, and travel all contribute.  It doesn’t help that we are a male dominated workforce that tends to the “just keep going” mindset.  But it isn’t just a construction problem – industry specific challenges blend with societal issues, neural diversity, addiction, the cost-of-living crisis and the pressure that social media puts on people to feel like they are failing if life isn’t Insta perfect.  We can’t always change the world, we can’t solve every problem, but we can be more alert.

As I sat there, I was thinking back to the presentation from Liam Colebrook at our Northern Regional Event the week prior and reminded of the consistency in the message.  In a brave and challenging presentation, Liam opened up about his addictions and  struggles with mental health and suicide.  During the presentation you could have heard a pin drop, after there were some really powerful questions and discussion, but my mind was mostly turning to a moment when we were packing up.  A former colleague of Liam’s, someone who worked with him at the time, came forward as we were unplugging the laptop and said … “mate I’m so sorry… I didn’t know”.   I regularly caught up with Liam at events, throughout his darkest days and I didn’t see the signs either.  Liam was one of our own, he went through hell, alone.  Thankfully he is still here, staying strong and sharing so that we can all learn from our failures.  But others aren’t and sadly some won’t be in the future – we do need to do more.

Get Construction Talking wasn’t just another conversation and a load of virtue signalling, it was an opportunity to share ideas, interrogate the causes, find out what others are doing and vitally to reflect.  Collaboration is critical – as well as a “just crack on culture”, construction tends to foster a solutions mindset.  We put ourselves on the hook to “fix it” rather than find the right help.   As a result we get initiative overload – we are not the sum of our parts.  This issue is one where we absolutely have to work on together.   To this end it was encouraging to hear from Mark Reynolds, Chair of Mace and Chair of the Construction Leadership Council on the work they are doing to step up and lead a more collaborative effort.  CLC has established a Mental Health Steering Group. You can find out more and support their research by sharing your insights here.

I’ve certainly come away thinking about how we can better join the dots to support individuals and businesses in our community more effectively.  This starts with promoting the excellent and very practical Action Plan that B1M and Procore have developed through the Get Construction Talking Campaign (which is now uploaded on the Mental Health Toolkit on our website).  The plan looks at the impact that individuals and Team Leaders can have and actions that they can take.   I also want to do more to emphasise the links between mental  health and other work we are doing.  We can’t talk about mental health without talking about risk dumping in contracts and poor contractual management.  FIS is encouraging all members to support the Conflict Avoidance Coalition which is doing great work to change this.  Details available through our Responsible No campaign which is all about changing the culture in construction.   We also can’t ignore unfair payment practices and retention and how they are a cancer at the core of our market, so again I encourage all to feed in to the Government consultation on late payment and retention that closes towards the end of August.  We need to make sure Government have no excuse not to regulate better.

Perhaps the most important reminder on the day was that it isn’t just about getting construction talking, but making sure I am listening.  To this end, please do bring always feel free to call FIS and unload – we can’t solve every problem, but perhaps we can help you appreciate that you aren’t the only one facing it and direct you to someone who can.  Our office number is 0121 707 0077, but my mobile is 07792 959 481 and it is always on.

FIS CEO, Iain McIlwee

Following an investigation into knife injuries in the sector, the FIS Health and Safety Group has launched new guidance on knives to help businesses assess and plan for risks more effectively and protect workers from potentially life-changing injuries while improving overall project productivity.

Commenting on the launch of the new guidance, David Cant, Chair of the FIS Health and Safety Working Group said:

“Thankfully knife injuries remain rare amongst FIS membership, but through our H&S Working Group we take a proactive approach to reducing accident rates further.  Having investigated all injuries reported in the past three years (through our Annual Health and Safety Survey) and looked at where and how knives are used in the sector, FIS do not advocate that the use of fixed and semi-fixed blade knives is inherently unsafe for operations like scoring plasterboard and recognises that alternatives are not always practical.   However, where the use of such knives is necessary, it is important to risk assess, ensure that usage is limited to trained operatives, that safety protocols are adhered to, the correct tools are used and maintained and to double down on the use of appropriate PPE.  To reinforce these key messages, with the support of our H&S Working Group, FIS has produced guidance that improves awareness, provides practical advice and reinforces the need for refresher training in support of the safe use of knives on-site”.

Most knife injuries occur when a blade slips often striking the worker’s other hand and causing lacerations to the hand or fingers.  Where accidents have occurred they tend to link to a failure to follow PPE protocols. Using blunt tools further increases the risk.  New Guidance from FIS reinforces that knives should only be issued to and carried by workers performing tasks that have been risk-assessed to ensure the right tool is being used, and only where appropriate training has been provided.

This guidance, adapted from advice developed by the Health and Safety Executive and the British Safety Industry Federation, has been contextualised by the FIS Health and Safety Working Group to suit the finishes and interiors sector. It focuses on eight key steps to reduce knife-cut injuries:

• Reduce or eliminate the need for cutting
• Specify the right knife for the task
• Ensure spare knives and blades are available
• Safe Storage / Sheathing
• Specify the correct PPE
• Assess the working environment and cutting techniques
• Provide adequate training
• Ensure appropriate first aid is available

The guidance also includes posters and QR codes that can be used on site and provide access to guidance.

To download the Knife-cut Injury Guidance, click here.

The FIS Health and Safety Working Group, which has been established to support compliance improve health and safety in the sector, held its last meeting on 3 July.

The meeting was opened up by Chair David Cant and began with a review of the results of the FIS Annual H&S Survey. A number of points were drawn out around key concerns, but overall the survey demonstrated a strong performance from the community in terms of accident frequency rates.

On Dust: Joe Marais, Trolex gave an update on dust monitoring and led into a discussion on future monitoring that they will be undertaking on real-time dust monitoring for drylining operations.    Scott McGibbon spoke about the need for renew focus on silica dust and work he has been commissioned by CIOB to do in terms of developing guidance.  The group also discussed RPE options and the need to revisit, through planned FIS work, not just the improved guidance advocated at the last meeting with the BSIF, but to look at legal responsibility of providing expensive equipment to self-employed workers refusing to shave and how employers can manage associated costs and contra charges.

Knife Safety: The group discussed the latest FIS guidance proposed on knife safety, noting a low accident rate with fixed blade knives when used correctly.  This guide will be published w/c 7 July.

Pallet Safety: They inefficiency of current pallet trucks for moving plasterboard and the potential for a new, more suitable design and supporting guidance was discussed.

Manual Handling: FIS updated on e-learning in development with Mike Lordan at Construction People Skills regarding Manual Handling Processes and Davey Snowdon from Pristine spoke about lifting techniques and training options.

AOB raised related to the practicality of board lifters for ceilings, noting challenges with implementation of and suggesting a collaborative approach to improve manual handling practices.

The minutes and actions can be accessed here.

If you are interested in future meetings, email info@thefis.org and we will ensure you are notified.