Health and Safety

Tim Marlow is founding partner of Chronos Consult Last week, the UK saw its hottest temperature ever, with an official high of 40.3o. The Meteorological Office says this is likely to happen again within weeks. As always, the industry has shown its resilience, with most sites remaining open. But, even…

Andrew Mather is director of Ramboll Climate science has been saying it for a while, but the UK is now starting to experience more of the extreme weather that will, sadly, only become more prevalent. As we continue to break new record temperatures, we need to face up to the…

Alexander Edwards is a partner at Rosling King LLP We all saw the Grenfell Tower tragedy unfold before our eyes in June 2017. In the aftermath, its disastrous consequences, and cladding in high-rise buildings in particular, triggered fierce debate across the country. Almost five years later, the Building Safety Act…

Dave Cahill (right) is head of UK construction and Adam Power is construction PI lead at Miller Insurance The construction market has seen a sustained period of difficulty, with many companies facing or having faced insolvency. Some argue that much of the supply chain has never fully recovered from the…

Another week brings yet another Met Office warning of extreme temperatures in the UK, with the group issuing its first-ever ‘Red warning’ for exceptional heat. It predicts that the mercury could hit 40°C in some parts of the country, as today and Tuesday are set to be the hottest of…

Andy Williamson is commercial director at construction products firm SIG There’s something about the term ‘compliance’ that seems to reek of another age: an age when expertise was respected, when integrity was seen as a positive attribute and skilled trades were valued. The Building Safety Act, which has just become…

Tim Claremont (left) is a partner and Gavin Hoccom is a senior associate at law firm Browne Jacobson The Building Safety Act 2022 received Royal Assent at the end of April. The government has described its contents as “the biggest changes to building safety regulation in a generation”. For once…

Mark Gordon is health, safety & environmental director at Durkan Nowadays, it is highly likely that there are more mental health issues on construction sites than there are physical accidents. In an industry that is so focused on managing and mitigating safety risk, that is really not a surprising statement,…

Chris Hallam is a partner at CMS “UK builders go woke,” announced the Mail on Sunday last week. “Forget the stereotype that builders are wolf-whistling white-van men devouring greasy-spoon breakfasts and discussing sport as radios blare out inane pop music,” it proclaimed – simultaneously expressing surprise that builders are actually ordinary people while nevertheless…

Industry efforts to provide mental health support seem to be bearing fruit, but much work remains. Tiya Thomas-Alexander examines the results of the 2022 CN Mind Matters survey

Ian Armstrong was having trouble sleeping at night, but nobody at work noticed, let alone helped. “If I look back, I can see…