<= wiSE., Establishing effective communications and participation in the construction sector Part 1: Main report Part 2: Literature review Prepared by Entec UK Ltd for the Health and Safety Executive CONTRACT RESEARCH REPORT 5391/2001z= | HSE Health & Safety Executive | Establishing effective communications and participation in the construction sector Part 1: Main report Rebecca J Lancaster, Isabel McAllister and Andrew Alder Entec UK Ltd Pentlands Science Park Bush Loan Midlothian EH26 OPZ Effective communication and workforce involvement in health and safety are recognised as critical to offective health and safety management. These can best be achioved by well planned, two way communication between management and employees and involving staff in the development and implementation of health and safety systems, such as training, writing procedures, hazard spotting, risk assessments etc. This necessarily entails devolution of roles and responsibility from safety departments to staff and line management, and a revision in the role of the safoty department from one of developing arrangements and enforcing compliance to one of leadership and facilitation. The ‘complex structure and nature of the construction industry with long chains of command, extensive use ‘of sub-contractors and short term projects can present challenges to establishing such practices. This study aims to ascertain the extent of communication of health and safety and workforce participation in health and safety in the construction sector and to identify, through case studies, how these can be planned and implemented to improve health and safety performance in the context of the industry, The ‘study found that, although organisations do not always have effective communication and involvement approaches in place, the benefits of doing so are widely recognised, The characteristics of effective ‘approaches and the process of implementing these are highlighted. This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive. Its contents, including any opinions andlor conclusions expressed, are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy. HSE BOOKS© Crown copyright 2001 Applications for reproduction should be made in wnting to: Copyright Unit, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 180 First published 2001 ISBN 0 7176 2147 2 Al rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.CONTENTS SUMMARY Background Aims Methods Main findings Conclusions 1. BACKGROUND 2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 3. METHODS 3.1 Overview 3.2 Literature review 3.3. Telephone survey 3.4 Case studies 4. RESULTS 4.1 Literature review 4.2 Telephone survey 4.3 Case studies 5. DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS 5.1 Current situation in the construction sector 5.2 Characteristics of effective systems 5.3. Overcoming obstacles inherent in the construction sector 6. CONCLUSIONS ‘Appendix A Telephone survey questionnaire Appendix B Case study criteria checklist Appendix C Case study question set Appendix D Results of telephone survey Appendix E Case studies iii ul 16 19 19 20 20 2SUMMARY BACKGROUND Effective communication of health and safety and workforce involvement in health and safety are recognised as critical to effective health and safety management. These can best be achieved by well planned, two way communication between management and employees and involving staff in the development and implementation of health and safety systems, such as training, writing procedures, hazard spotting, workplace risk assessments etc. This necessarily entails devolution of roles and responsibility from safety departments to staff and line ‘management, and a revision in the role of the safety department from one of developing arrangements and enforcing compliance to one of leadership and facilitation. The benefits of workforce participation in the construction sector are recognised in the CDM. Regulations and the Working Well Together initiative. However, the nature of the industry with temporary worksites, sub-contracting ete presents some challenges in securing participation and ‘warrants more complex communication systems. AIMS ‘This study aims to ascertain the extent of communication of health and safety and workforce participation in health and safety in the construction sector and identify, through case studies, how these can be planned and implemented to improve health and safety performance in the context of the industry. METHODS There were three main phases in this project: + Literature review of communication and workforce involvement in the context of health and safety and how these have been and can be applic, the construction sector © Telephone survey to establish a baseline of current practice, in relation to communication and workforce involvement, in the construction sector + Best practice case studies demonstrating how principles of effective communication and workforce involvement can by applied in the construction sector to improve health and safety performance MAIN FINDINGS Literature review ‘There is potentially a vast amount of literature on the subjects of communication and workforce participation so the scope of this review was limited to literature considered to contribute to the understanding of these topics as they relate to the construction sector and health and safety in particular There are some specific issues and challenges for the construction industry. ‘The key themes that emerge are as follows + Transient nature of the workforce * Focus on price and competitive tendering,One off product where design and construction is separated. ck of leadership and evidence of traditional management style * A tisk taking culture Despite these challenges, there appears to be no inherent reasons that prevent successful implementation of workforce participation in health and safety in the construction industry. The process is continuous and requires co-ordination, commitment and competency from the stakeholders. ‘The key stages of implementation are outlined as follows: Deciding to introduce or increase workforce involvement, + Scoping and design of initial arrangements, Communicating goals and securing ‘buy-in’, Full implementation; and, + Review process. Telephone survey Sample and attitudes to health and safety A telephone survey was conducted by Woodholmes Marketing Ltd. The survey covered 311 organisations in the construction sector. These results suggest that nearly all organisations perceive their health and safety performance and awareness to be good relative to other similar organisations, 21% of organisations suggested that the workforce are not interested in health and safety and saw lack of interest as a barrier to effective communication. Communication Formal methods of communication of health and safety are evident in the form of notice boards (62%), site inductions (51%), and safety briefings / tool-box talks (41%). Notice boards were however not seen as particularly effective relative to other methods. Site inductions were found in over half of the sites and felt to be an effective means of communication (96% reporting very good or good), Tool box talks were evident in 4 out of 10 organisations, but greater in medium and large organisations. ‘The focus is generally on risks and their control Over 40% of small organisations have a company web site and over @ quarter use email, Workforce involvement AA significant number of organisations (79%) believe that involving workers in health and safety would reduce the number of accidents. In practice, 62% of organisations involved the workforce in identifying and resolving problems and 39% in selecting equipment. Less than 20% of organisations reported employee involvement in producing health and safety plans, writing method statements, developing and reviewing training, audits, accident investigation, developing safety management systems. Time constraints were seen as the greatest barrier to involving the workforce in health and safety. viWorking Well Together Campaign 25% of organisations were aware of the Working Well Together Campaign, of these 12% currently participated in the campaign. Case studies ‘Motivation to involve employees and improve communication Most organisations are motivated to improve communication and involvement in order to improve performance whether this be: quality, efficiency or health and safety performance. However, the organisations have seen additional benefits of these systems, particularly in relations with employees and sub-contractors (detailed below). Common methods of communication and employee involvement ‘The following approaches to workforce involvement are more commonly used: identifying and resolving health and safety problems (such as hazard spotting), risk assessment, accident investigation, equipment design and selecting PPE and equipment. These are more effective if involvement is on a voluntary basis as this ensures ownership. The following methods of communication are more commonly adopted: health and safety training, induction training, tool-box talks, health and safety meetings, notice boards and newsletters. These are more effective if they are two-way and involve all stakeholders including sub-contractors. Benefits of good communication and involvement + Building trust between management and operatives * Better perception of hazards, improved motivation, improved working conditions and safe performance + Employees stay fit and healthy + Company loyalty * Good team spirit * Improved product * Reduced staff tumover * Improved quality standards * Customer Joyalty and improvements in repeat orders © Good safety record, improved relations and morale * Reduced material waste due to better housekeeping CONCLUSIONS Whilst there is obvious room for improvement, the value of communication and involvement in improving health and safety performance in the sector is recognised by organisations. There are a number of features of the construction industry that present potential barriers to implementing the systems of communication and involvement that are highlighted. However, the best practice case studies have highlighted how these can be overcome and the benefits of these systems are very apparent. Clearly commitment from all stakeholders is of fundamental importance inensuring the improvements in health and safety performance sought by the construction industry,1, BACKGROUND ‘The traditional “top-down” approach to health and safety can be characterised as involving a centralised health and safety department identifying issues, devising solutions in the form of procedures, training and engineering etc. which they then implement. It is also common, with the traditional approach to management, that staff are viewed to be part of the problem, failing, to follow rules and procedures, lacking competence and requiring high levels of compliance based auditing and supervision. However, recent research and experience has demonstrated that ‘the “compliance” type of problems observed in traditional management systems are partly products of the “top down” approach to management. For example, research has found that the traditional top down approach to health and safety management can lead to a number of dysfunctional phenomena, A typical situation is that staff fail to “own safety procedures” as they are developed and imposed by a remote central department. In contrast, latter day approaches to health and safety argue that it is critical to gain ownership of health and safety arrangements amongst line management and staff, to secure acceptance and hence compliance with such arrangements. Communication is critical in effective health and safety management and it is recognised that there are essentially three forms of communication in organisations, these being, top-down, bottom-up and lateral communication between colleagues. Workforce involvement in health and safety is a legal requirement and also recognised as critical to effective health and safety management. These can best be achieved by ‘well planned, two way communication between management and employees and involving staff in the development and implementation of health and safety systems, such as training, writing procedures, hazard spotting, workplace risk assessments etc. This necessarily entails devolution of roles and responsibility from safety departments to staff and line management, and a revision in the role of the safety department from one of developing arrangements and enforcing compliance to one of leadership and facilitation, Effective communication and workforce involvement in health and safety are thought to have additional benefits. For example, itis thought that staff will have a better understanding of the hazards associated with their work due to their full time involvement in these tasks. Also, staff have a better understanding of operational constraints, thereby allowing them to develop more practical and realistic safety procedures - further improving the acceptability of health and safety procedures. Finally, itis staff who are in the best position to manage day to day hazards, as they are most likely to discover and immediately rectify such hazards Indeed, it could be argued that workforce participation may offer particular benefits in the construction sector where, for example, the temporary and changing nature of work sites makes it difficult for a central safety officer to identify and monitor site hazards. By involving staff in safety, gaining their ownership of safety management and empowering them to act on hazards without referral to management, hazards should be removed faster and more effectively ‘The benefits of workforce participation in the construction sector are recognised in the CDM Regulations and the Working Well Together initiative, However, the nature of the industry with temporary worksites, sub-contracting ete presents some challenges in securing participation and warrants more complex communication systems. For example, the short term nature of project ‘work managed against tight deadlines might inhibit the setting up of workforce-management teams to review hazards and agree safety measures.2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This study aims to ascertain the extent of communication of health and safety and workforce participation in health and safety in the construction sector. In addition, to identify, through case studies, how these can be planned and implemented to improve health and safety performance in the context of the industry. In particular the project aims to: 1a. Assess the extent of communication and workforce participation in health and safety across the construction sector. Assess the awareness of the Working Well Together initiative; b. Read across the research on workforce participation and communication; ‘c. Assess the range and effectiveness of communication techniques and workforce involvement methods used by organisations in the construction sector. d. Identify the benefits of effective communication and workforce participation in construction, highlighting how some of the challenges facing health and safety in this sector (such as the complex structure and nature of the workforce) can be met: €. Provide a series of case studies on effective communication and workforce participation in the construction sector, for dissemination across the industry, including main and sub- contracting organisations, and small and large organisations;3. METHODS 3.4 OVERVIEW ‘There were three main phases in this project © Literature review; + Telephone survey to establish a baseline of current practice in the construction sector; and + Best practice case studies. 3.2. LITERATURE REVIEW ‘A review was conducted of international literature on communication and workforce participation in health and safety in order to establish: + features of effective communication and workforce part * potential benefits; and + how these may best be applied in the construction sector, reading across any lessons leat to the issues facing the construction sector, The search was not restricted to literature stemming from the building and construction industry, but priority was given to material relevant to the particular factors found in the industry. This survey aimed to report the most recent research in this area, and the majority of reports were researched after 1994, i.c. post CDM regulations. However, where seminal studies have been conducted from an earlier period these have also been reported. Literature was drawn from peer review journals as well as research reports, Government pul and magazine articles. ed literature, journals Searches were carried out on combinations of keywords using the following sourc + British Library - inside and OPAC + HS + OSHROM 3.3 TELEPHONE SURVEY A telephone survey was conducted by Woodholmes Marketing Ltd. ‘The survey covered 311 organisations in the construction sector, the details of the make up of the construction industry and sample are presented in tables 1, 2 and 3 below. The database of names and sample structure was obtained from Dun and Bradstreet. The most senior person in the organisation was contacted in the first instance. The interviewer ‘was then put in contact with the most appropriate person in the organisation, often the person with a health and safety remit. The interview typically took no more than 10 to 15 minutes, addressing indicators of the extent of workforce participation and communication as well as reactions to the Working Well Together iniTable 1 True make-up of construction sector 0-49 50-249 250+ 15 (Building, © 28,859 985 148 Operative Bui 96% 3% 1% ve Builders - a 4 Battal Gonttacos) 16 (Heavy Construction 3724 364 us alain Construction == 88% % 5% Contractors) 17 Construction - 1284 160 Special Trad Contractors)” % 1% Table 2 Proposed sample structure Size of organisation Construction SMALL MEDIUM LARGE TOTAL Sector Code Petre (2-2 eo revine 15 n 2 1 75 16 10 1 1 2 "7 207 4 2 213 TOTAL 289 1 4 300 Table 3 Actual sample interviewed Size of organisation Construction SMALL MEDIUM LARGE TOTAL Sector Code (emt 0-2eane) 0 15 2 4 3 0 16 u 2 2 15 7 206 8 3 217 TOTAL 289 “ 8 3il explored the following issues: are staff involved in developing site safety rules and procedures, site risk assessmenVhazard spotting and accident investigation; how are stafT informed of safety goals and policies; how are staff involved in setting performance goals and devising improvement strategies; 4how are staff safety concerns identified and communicated to management; + awareness of the working well together initiative and any reaction to it The questionnaire was developed by Entec for the purpose of the interview and a copy is presented in Appendix A. 3.4 CASE STUDIES A. number of organisations were identified that displayed the features of effective communication and participation either from sources such as HSE contacts and Entec’s experience. These were contacted and their systems of communication and involvement discussed using the criteria checklist (see appendix B). This checklist ensured that the organisations selected met the necessary criteria, For example that they had tangible evidence of improvements as a result of the interventions. In addition this ensured that a range of construction activities, sizes of organisations and range of methods of communication and involvement were captured in the selection. Six of these were selected as case study sites as detailed below. Table 4 Case study sample Organisat Nature of Size construction activity ‘AMEC Capital Construction and Large Projects, Construction ‘demolition Roger Bullivant. General Constructi Large Jade-Aden Building construction Small and roofing Pinnacle Interior design Small Tendring General Construction Medium Vange Scaffolding Medium The forms of participation, methods of communication, design of arrangements and benefits were explored in depth using an interview proforma. ‘Three interviews were conducted at each site as follows © Site health and safety manager / officer + Senior manager * Employees and employee representative (s) Particular attention was paid to: * how health and safety is communicated and how the workforce are involved in health and safety; organisational structure supporting the communication / involvement procedures + the benefits of the procedures ~ such as better health and safety, better industrial relations, improved client relations ete.‘+ how the organisational and operational characteristics of the construction sector, such as temporary worksites, visitors to sites, short-term contracting and sub contracting, are dealt with.4, RESULTS 4.4 LITERATURE REVIEW The following summarises the findings of a literature review conducted as part of this commissioned work. The literature review has been submitted as a separate document, available from HSE, The following conclusions were drawn, ‘There is potentially a vast amount of literature on the subjects of communication and workforce participation so the scope of this review has been limited to literature considered to contribute to the understanding of these topics as they relate to the construction sector and health and safety in particular. In this context the definition of communication involves the provision of information from people who know about risks to those who need to know. Effective communication supports good industrial relations and loyalty through mutual understanding and trusting relationships and avoids the problems caused by bad communication. Communication is also considered an integral part of safety culture as the behaviour of people can be influenced through communication, Effective communication within an organisation is open, including both good and bad news, is ‘two-way and timely. The communication environment, style of management and characteristics of the receiver are also important. A climate of trust is considered to promote eff communication and this can be developed within an organi ‘employee participation in decision making. tion using approaches such as People who communicate now have more tools than ever but face to face communication is considered 1o be most effective. When delivering safety information it is important that it speaks to the audience and that the right media are used. Communication of health and safety information can be delivered via training, courses, computer based systems or toolbox talks and there are certain techniques for these that make them more effective. Non-verbal communication, or body language can also play an important role in the attention span, interest level and interpretation by the receiver of a communication. The use of feedback can be an important aspect of communication, particularly in relation to performance measurement, and has been proved to be successful in improving safety performance in the UK. construction industry ‘There is a legal requirement within the health and safety regulations for the communication of safety information to employees. There is now more emphasis on this being two way communication in co-operation with employees rather than more traditional provision of information. There are a number of issues in the construction industry that may hinder effective communication. These include: * One-off nature of the construction process and inherent uncertainty; * Reliance on transitory sub-contractors; Ad-hoc, temporary combinations of the construction and design teams; * Decentralised organisation: + Adversarial culture;* Complex supply chain relationships; Construction requires a focus on inter-specialisation communication and the need for teamwork, flexibility and co-ordination making strong demands on the communication requirements, Multi-lingual and multi-cultural worksites raise further communication is sues. Suggestions for overcoming the communication issues in the construction industry include the following: * Reducing the chain of command; * Increased use of more effective communication environments; © Deal with resistance to safety practices on a one to one basis; + Develop a safety culture with all members participating in the decision making process; * Improve communication with the client through customer research and customer service; + Improve feedback and leaming from experience The subject of employee participation is raised in some of the literature on communication and open and effective communication is an essential component of involving employees in health and safety. The literature on workforce participation or employee involvement in organisations is extensive and a number of reviews exist which summarise research to date and gaps in this research. However, much of this research is not in the construction industry or related to health and safety. There is a range of different levels of employee involvement but the key feature of successfitl workforce participation is genuine decision making. ‘The most important variable is the propensity of the workers to participate. The process must also be ongoing and include direct involvement in identifying and defining ‘problems’ and issues. The use of management systems such as Total Quality Management benefit from extensive employee involvement. Workforce participation is becoming increasingly important in the way in which many companies work, there are a number of factors driving this trend, ‘The regulatory approach, both in the UK and the US, now encourages workforce participation. Organisational changes such as downsizing and decentralising and delayering require the support of the workforce if safety is to be managed. Employee participation also allows businesses to expand without a proportionate increase in management. It is seen as as an essential part of the safety improvement process and part of good management. ‘There are also business drivers such as customers requiring contractors and suppliers to include workforce participation in management arrangements, or part of plans to optimise quality, profitability and operational efficiency. Changes in the nature and expectations of the workforce and in the demands of customers are also driving the move towards increased workforce participation. The most common benefits experienced by companies who have implemented workforce participation in health and safety include: + Improved health and safety performance and more effective management of health and safety. Staff have a better understanding of the hazards and operational constraints associated with their work and can therefore develop more practical and realistic safety procedures. There is ownership and commitment to safety which leads to sustained change; * Safety personnel can take a more strategic overview and less reliance on supervision leads to more efficiencies:+ Improved staff morale, job satisfaction, commitment and trust; * Satisfaction of ‘customer’ demands and maintenance of a positive company image: + Ithelps to facilitate new ways of working as there is flexibility and faster adaptability; + Improved quality, lower production costs and greater productivity have also beon reported. There are many potential benefits of workforce participation but it also emerges that there are obstacles such as the attitudes of managers and practical considerations. ‘There are also pitfalls if the implementation process is not managed properly. ‘As with communication, there are some specific issues and challenges facing the implementation of workforce participation in the construction industry. The key themes that emerge are as follows + Transient nature of the workforce - there is little loyalty as jobs are often of short duration ‘Teams are inconsistent and change frequently, the workforce includes a large number of contributors with divergent goals, expertise and skills. Contractors are often not on site long enough to develop an interest in being involved: * With client prioritisation of price and competitive tendering in a cyclical industry, supervisors are often forced to choose between safety and production and too often choose production; + One off product where design and construction is separated. On construction projects the types of work, site topography and cast of employers and contractors are all variable leading, to changing and unpredictable worksites. ‘The construction process results in no one having, a stake in the long term success of the product and no commitment to it; + There is a lack of leadership with few managers showing any evidence of a strong commitment to change and a shortage of “empathy” type managerial skills such as listening. The workforce is undervalued, under-resourced and frequently treated as a commox Manpower and talent is waste + ‘The construction industry has a risk taking culture, Despite these challenges, there appears to be no inherent reasons that prevent successful implementation of workforce participation in health and safety in the construction industry. The process is continuous and requires co-ordination, commitment and competency from the stakeholders. ‘The key stages of implementation are outlined below. 4.1.4. Deciding to Introduce or Increase Workforce Involvement ‘The most important aspect of this is management commitment and understanding of what comprises effective workforce involvement. Communication should be open and honest with managers having confidence in employee ideas. The extent of desired involvement must be clear. ‘The company should develop a shared vision in consultation with stakeholders and align on the tasks required to achieve this. ‘The workforce should be involved in the decision making process as early as possible and empowered to participate. Teams who investigate and define problems should represent different functions and levels in the organisation. Benchmarking at this stage helps companies compare themselves with best practice within there own and other industries and identify opportunities for improvement.4.1.2. Scoping and Design of Initial Arrangements Careful planning is essential for the design and implementation of workforce involvement. Pilot schemes help to identify and resolve potential problems before general implementation. ‘The use of teams to funnel ideas from and communicate with their respective departments enable a broad consensus to be reached. In terms of construction, teams should focus on the finished product rather than output from their part of the construction sequence as this will lead to a view of construction asa much more integrated process. Organisational change will require support from everyone within the organisation and management may need to change their approach to encourage group learning in the light of changing roles, new skills and attitudes. ‘The setting of clear measurable objectives, targets, milestones and performance indicators is a fundamental requirement for getting commitment from the workforce for improvement. Goal setting and feedback have been proven to be successful in the construction industry. 4.1.3. Communicating Goals and Securing ‘Buy-In’ Communication of the process must be two-way so that concems, suggestions and queries can be raised and addressed in a constructive and open manner. The workforce must be engaged as active participants throughout the process. 4.4.4 Full Implementation ‘Actions needed to enable new arrangements should be identified and scheduled to precede plementation and a joint management-workforce team or committee should monitor implementation. Some realignment of the organisation may be required. Supervisors will need to delegate more and encourage the workforce to make decisions and carry out new tasks. ‘Training for both workforce and management will be required in order to give them the skills they need to take on new tasks and roles. Issues and priorities for change should be identified by workers rather than outside ‘experts’. Effectiveness of the implementation can be monitored by establishing performance measures. Management support is seen as critical for implementation to be successful. It has been found to be more effective to gain the willing co- operation of extemal parties, such as subcontractors, rather than imposing safety upon them. 4.4.5 Review Process ‘A review process is an essential part of implementing workforce part safety and completes the loop. The review must determine whether the goals of the initiative are being met, identify ways of improving the quality, depth and span of workforce involvement and finally, check whether the goals and methods of workforce involvement still satisfy business needs, comprise best practice and maintain workforce commitment. Further benchmarking and consultation with key stakeholders is essential to ensure performance standards are improving sufficiently. 104.2 TELEPHONE SURVEY The following summarises the findings of the telephone survey conducted across 311 organisations, mainly small, involved in a variety of construction activities. The responses are those of the person contacted during the survey, often the senior manager or health and safety officer, where appropriate. Full details of the survey findings, including graphs, are presented in ‘Appendix D. 4.2.4 Sample descri The most popular trades represented by the survey were: + Builder (17%) Carpenter (15%) + Blectrician (14%) In terms of contractor role, the most common role undertaken by the sample was that of principal contractor. Seven out of ten respondents (73%) indicate that they operate as the principal contractor on most or some of their jobs. 43% of the sample assume this role for the majority of the work they undertake. Likewise seven out of ten respondents (719) do act as sub contractors, a third of the sample stated that this constitutes the majority of their work. Only half of the sample, have ever undertaken work on the basis of being a specialist contractor, with only 23% indicating that most oftheir jobs are undertaken as a specialist contractor. Only 5% of companies predominantly work on a labour only contract with a further 12% occasionally working on this basis. ¢ out of ten respondents claim never to undertake projects on this basi 71% of companies use sub contractors; 28% claim to use them on most jobs with a further 43% using subcontractors on some jobs. 28% of the sample claim never to use subcontractors. Of those that use subcontractors, the vast majority (90%) express a preference for using the same sub-contractors for every project. Reputation, references and track record were deemed to be the most important considerations when selecting contractors. Price appears to become more prevalent for companies that do not have a particular loyalty to their sub contractor base. Only 9% of companies are aware that employees are definitely represented by a trade union. In terms of company provisions, most companies (89%) are likely to have someone with H&S responsibilities and four out of ten of these persons have H&S qual are as follow: tions. Other provisions © H&S representatives (64%) + Anaction plan to improve H&S (59%) + Quality circles / improvement teams (37%) * H&S committee (24%) + An ISO 9000 quality system (19%) + Company performance benchmarking (13%) HWIn terms of company performance indicators, most companies believe they fare well in relation to Health and Safety issues, with most professing to be better than average or average for number of accidents, amount of H&S training given, level of worker motivation / morale, workforce level of H&S awareness, effectiveness in improving H&S and employees participation in decision making 4.2.2 Worker involvement in Health & Safety The attitudes to worker involvement are as follows: * 27% agree that trade unions play an important role in health & safety * 19% of respondents agree that if workers are more involved in health and safety then the number of accidents would fall + 15% regard safety as the sole responsibility of the safety department + 54% believe that health and safety is a line management responsibility + 85% agree that employees are part of the decision making process * 96% agree that workers are expected to actively contribute to improving safety in the workplace * 21% agree that the workforce is not interested in health and safety ‘The table below illustrates the results in terms of participation in health and safety activites: Table S Participation in health and safety activities Most Safety reps. Employees Not employees uy gor Bwlvea applicable / font know “Identifying and resolving safety 2% 24% Mm M% problems Producing a Health and Safety 19% 54% 15% 12% lan Writing method statements 14% 51% 19% 17% Developing and reviewing 20% 4% 19% 14% taining Selecting equipment, such as 39% 41% 11% 8% personal protective equipment Health & Safety audits 10% 48% 23% 20% Conducting risk assessments 21% 46% 19% 13% Conducting accident 19% 48% 15% 18% investigation Developing safety rules and 30% 4% 15% 1% procedures Developing safety management 13% am 23% 1% systeinsIn terms of training, companies are more inclined to train their workforce in health and safety awareness and risk assessments. Exactly three quarters of companies (75%) claim to train their workforce in health and safety awareness, with a further 10% stating that they train only some employees in relation to this issue. In total 64% of companies train employees on issues relating to risk assessment, nearly half of those companies surveyed train the majority of their workforce, whilst 15% only train some. A total of 57% of companies offer training on team working skills, 46% of companies claim this type of training is widely available with a further 11% stating that it is only available to some employee Construction workers are least likely to be offered training in: ‘+ Auditing skills (77% do not offer training for this issue) * Problem solving techniques (77% do not offer training for this issue) Only one other area of training was identified, first aid courses as mentioned by only one ‘company. ‘The main benefit of involving the workforce in health and safety is deemed to be an improved performance in health and safety standards, as stated by nearly six out of ten companies (58%). ‘The second most recognised benefit being better health and safety awareness, as stated by 46% of those companies surveyed. Over half of companies (53%) could not identify any specific barriers or inherent difficulties in engaging workers in health and safety issues. The main barrier identified was one of time pressure as cited by 22% of companies surveyed, 4.2.3 Communication H&S Site inductions (58%) and H&S Notice boards are the most commonly used methods of communication Table 6 illustrates the proportion of the sample using each form of communication and the mean rating for their effectiveness. Table 6 Communication and its effectiveness Form of % of sample using the _% of organisations that rate communication method ofcommuntcation effectiveness as good / very good ~~ H&SNotice Board ——SS«52% 60% : H&S Site inductions 58% 96% Safety briefings (tool 41% ‘Top down 97% “hon akg Fs Bottom up 84% Formal suggestion 13% 95% scheme Safety committee 15% Top down 96% Treeting, Bottom up 90%In terms of high tech communications, whilst 43% of the sample have company web sites, relatively few companies have hamessed this technology as a means of communication. Only 27% of construction companies claim that their employees use e-mail frequently, 17% have a company intranet site and only 6% use multi media training. Less than a quarter of respondents (23%) consider computers as an effective means of communicating with workers. However, this is heavily influenced by whether or not they have email (56% who do compared with 22% who don’). In terms of reporting procedures: * 75% of companies claim that unsafe behaviours can be reported anonymously * 72% of companies document unsafe behaviours to ensure that they are corrected * 77% of companies document unsafe conditions to ensure that they are corrected * 19% of companies have an employee incentive scheme, only 3% of whom directly link this to H&S performance Lateral communication is considered to be stronger in the construction sector than vertical communication. 37% rated top down communication as being ‘very good’ with a further 58% stating it was “good” 33% stated bottom up communication is ‘very good” with 54% given this issue a ‘good’ rating 42% rated communication between workers as being ‘very good” with 46% stating it was ‘good” 46% rated communication between managers as being ‘very good’ with 50% giving this issue a ‘good’ rating, 28% of companies think that the introduction of health and safety regulations has changed their company’s communication policy. The overwhelming majority of companies surveyed claim not to have any non English speakers in their employment. Of the 4% of construction companies that do, all claimed that non English speakers account for less than 10% of their workforce. OF the 13 companies that do employ non English speakers the yast majority 62% (N = 8) communicate with these individuals through another team member. 15% (NV ~ 2) of comps communicate to non English speakers through their team leaders. 23% (N = 3) claim that th Snot an issue’ In terms of the advantages and disadvantages of effective communication in health and safety: 66% of respondents see the key advantage as being raised standards of performance in relation to health and safety. Nearly a half of the sample (46%) also regard a key benefit as being better awareness of health and safety issues, 61% of companies could not identify any specific barriers to effective communication, As stated previously, time pressure (15%) and lack of interest (15%) were the key barriers identified4.2.4 Working well together campaign A quarter of respondents (77 of the 311 ‘organisations) were aware of the Working Well Yogether campaign. 75% of large organi tions (n ~ 6 of 8) 29% of Medium organisations (n=4 of 14) 23% of Small organisations (n=67 of 289) tor code 15 (n=26 of 79) tor code 16 (n=3 of 15) 22% of sector code 17 (n=48 of 217) 32% of s 20% of s Only 3% of the total sample (n = 9) currently participate in the Working Well Together campaign, 12% of those that were aware of it. These include: 33 % of large organisations who were aware (n = 2 of 6) 25% of medium sized organisations who were aware (n = I of 4) 9% of small organisations who were aware (n ~ 6 of 67) 12% in construction code 15 organisations (n 3 of 26) 33% in construction code 16 organisations (n = I of 3) 10% of construction code 17 organisations (n = 5 of 48)4.3. CASE STUDIES Following the visits to the 6 best practice sites, case studies were developed for launch on the Working Well Together web-site. These are presented in Appendix E. The following summarises this information 4.3.1. Motivation to involve employees and improve communication Most organisations are motivated to improve communication and involvement in order to improve performance whether this be: quality, efficiency or health and safety performance. However, the organisations have seen additional benefits of these systems, particularly in relations with employees and sub-contractors (detailed below). 4.3.2 Common methods of communication and employee involvement ‘The methods adopted vary across the organisations reviewed. Larger organisations tend to have more formal systems in place. For example AMEC’s VOICE system (Views of Operatives In the Construction Environment) is a branded system for improving health and safety performance which involves employees in health and safety decision making. Smaller organisations involve employees and subcontractors in a more informal manner. However, there are common themes in the organisations reviewed. Some of the ways in which health and safety is communicated and employees and subcontractors involved in health and safety decision making are presented below: Identifying and resolving health and safety problems Hazard spotting is an integral part of many of the systems reviewed. These range from formal checklists and reporting, such as in AMEC’s VOICE system through to less formal procedures, such as at Jade-Aden, where the operatives verbally report hazards to supervisors and health and safety professionals. Both of these systems work best when operatives are involved in developing the solutions to eliminate or reduce the risks associated with the hazard they have identified Vange has incentive programmes for hazard spotting whereby employees receive monetary rewards for identifying hazards. AMBC has a safety quiz. with monetary reward for the winner. Risk assessment Employees are often encouraged to be involved in the risk assessment process. Employees adopt different roles in this process from one organisation to another. For example, at AMEC employees review risk assessments conducted by engineers, whereas at Vange risk assessments are conducted by supervisors and personal risk assessments conducted by operatives. Accident investigation Formal accident investigation is conducted in many of the organisations visited. At Vange accidents are reviewed at the weekly toolbox talks. At AMEC they are reviewed at the weekly VOICE team meetings. Health and safety training and meetings Induction training Many of the sites have health and safety induction training / information. The nature of this training varies across the sites. AMEC have worked hard at pitching the training appropriately and encouraging employees and contractors to be involved in two way discussion at the 16training. Pinnacle and Tendring have induction booklets / cards for all employees and contractors. Tool box talks Toolbox talks are established in a number of the sites (Vange, Bullivants and Tendring). ‘The topic of the talk may be suggested by the health and safety advisor or by the operatives. These ‘work best when there is two way communication and involvement of operatives in the delivery of the training / information. Tendering have also introduced job chats, which involve discussions between the operatives and their supervisor. Health and safety features in this and employees are encouraged to discuss any problems or suggestions for improvements. Health and safety meetings ‘The nature and style of health and safety meetings varies across the organisations. They are ‘most effective when employees at all levels, including subcontractors, are involved. Pinnacle hold monthly meetings with employees and subcontractors. This meeting allows information to bbe exchanged and there is usually a speaker on a relevant topic, Jade-Aden hold Saturday morning meetings for employees and contractors, this entails a two way communication about any current issues including health and safety. Equipment design ‘A number of sites have involved employces in the design of new equipment. At Roger Bullivant, employees have recently been heavily involved in the redesign and manufacture of their rigs. Employee safety was a major driver in the process. Selecting PPE and equipment ‘The organisations have seen an improvement in the correct use of safety equipment as a result of employee involvement in the selection of such equipment. Employees have suggested using, PPE as @ means of improving communication. For example, at Tendring overalls are provided with logo’s on in order to identify employees in multi-contact sites. At Vange employees wear different coloured hard-hats to indicate level of experience and health and safety training. This quickly identifies whether there is an appropriate mix of employee experience within the teams, Notice boards and newsletters AMEC and Pinnacle have monthly newsletters allowing them to communicate regularly with their sub-contractors. Health and safety is a regular feature of the newsletters. Pinnacle has found that they get greater feedback from contractors since circulating the newsletter by email. ‘A, number of sites have notice boards holding health and safety information. Pinnacle purchased portable and durable boards that could be displayed on every site. ‘The employees and contractors were involved in the design and content of the boards and this has resulted in more effective use of the boards as a means of exchanging information. 43.3 Ben of good communication and involvement The following benefits were highlighted by participating organisations: * Building trust between management and operatives * Better perception of hazards, improved motivation, improved working conditions and safety performance © Employees stay fit and healthy © Increased company loyalty© Good team spirit + Improved productivity * Reduced staff tu mover + Improved quality standards + Customer loyalty and improvements in repeat orders * Good safety record, improved relations and morale * Reduced material waste due to better housekeeping 4.3.4 Lessons learnt ‘The organisations expressed a number of ways that they have learnt through experience and consequently improved the systems they have in place. The important lessons were: Training for facilitators, observers etc Involvement in training, hazard spotting and so on is often improved if the operatives are provided with relevant training. This is particularly highlighted for involving employees in ‘raining. Often operatives have no experience in providing training and therefore giving them the necessary skills in presenting is important if they are to get the message across. Providing the necessary support in terms of time and resources is also very important. Voluntary involvement ‘The systems worked better when the operatives volunteer their involvement. It often takes time to establish a culture whereby people do volunteer but this is thought to be most effective in the long-term as there is greater ownership of the systems and procedures. Solutions based involvement ‘The systems are more effective if employees are involved in the development of solutions as well as identifying the hazards. Initial costs can be redeemed These organisations recognised that there is an initial cost associated with the systems they have set up and it is often some time before these are recouped. However, all the organisations felt that the benefits far outweighed the costs in the medium-long term. Engage subcontractors There is often a divide between employees and contractors. Introducing workforce involvement and engaging in more effective communication with employees without considering sub- contractors may contribute to widening this gap. ‘The organisations that involved contractors as well as employees have found it has resulted in improved relations between employees and contractors.5. DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS 5.1 CURRENT SITUATION IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR A significant number of organisations ( 81%) that participated in the telephone survey thought that they were below average regarding the number of accidents they have. Almost all thought that the level of health and safety awareness among their workforce was above average (98%) and thought there health and safety performance was above average (96%). These results suggest a mismatch between organisations’ perception of themselves and the rest of the industry. In addition, 21% of organisations suggested that the workforce are not interested in health and safety and saw lack of interest as a barrier to effective communication. However, a ficant number of organisations (79%) believe that involving workers in health and safety would reduce the number of accidents. This suggests that most employers see the value in effectively communicating, and involving the workforce, in health and safety. In practice, 62% of organisations involved the workforce in identifying and resolving problems, and 39% in selecting equipment. Less than 20% of organisations reported employee involvement in producing health and safety plans, writing method statements, developing and reviewing training, audits, accident investigation, developing safety management systems. Time constraints were seen as the greatest barrier to involving the workforce in health and safety. Formal methods of communication of health and safety are evident in the form of notice boards (52%), site inductions (51%), and safety briefings / tool-box talks (41%). Notice boards were however not seen as particularly effective relative to other methods. This may be due to the nature of information presented and the frequency with which it is updated. Two thirds hold statutory posters and safety policies. However, few display other information such as other health and safety posters (18%), feedback from the workforce, such as ideas and suggestions (8%) and there is little information regarding current performance of the organisation such as objectives and targets (6%) and accident statistics (8%). It is reported that a quarter update the boards less than every 6 months. Site inductions were found in over half of the sites. However the majority see the passage of information from the employer (site rules and safety policy) as the main priority, with little involvement of the trainee in that less than 16% reported questions from employees as a key aspect. Although 86% reported employees questions as a feature when prompted. They are however, felt to be an effective means of communication (96% reporting very good or good). Tool box talks were evident in 4 out of 10 organisations, but greater in medium and large organisations. ‘The focus is generally on risks and their control Over 40% of small organisations have a company web site and over a quarter use email However 60% reported the computer as not at all effective as a means of communication, although this is influenced by whether or not they have a web site or email facility. Those who do have systems already are more likely to believe that they are effective as a means of communication. 25% were aware of the Working Well Together Campaign but only 3 percent participate init,