Construction

Builders urged to secure sites to save lives

The director of a construction firm has received a six-month custodial sentence, suspended for 24 months, for failing to plan the lifting of roof trusses.

Registrations are now being taken for the Building Safety Fund, the £1billion pot of money pledged by the government in the March Budget announcement.

At last, change comes to the sector, led by a surge in urban population and streamlined by technology.

The failure to properly plan and appropriately supervise work at height has led to a £60,000 fine for a Basingstoke roofing firm.

The government has announced that a new building safety regulator will be established as part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The new courses, one designed for construction site managers and the other for workers, have been introduced by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), the global chartered body for professionals responsible for worker protection.Safety, Health and Environment for Construction Site Managers provides those in charge of projects with the ability to implement strategies designed to ensure workers and the environment aren't harmed by projects.

More than 160 people took part in to a webinar organised by the IOSH Construction Group, where they heard about of the efforts being made to raise awareness of the issue.Guest speaker Martin Coyd OBE, immediate-past Chair of the Build UK Health Group and a member of the Health in Construction Leadership Group, spoke of plans to establish a new UK-wide scheme to promote greater mental health awareness and support for construction workers.