Union leaders are demanding that site managers be trained in the latest safety standards in a bid to reduce the industry’s rising death toll.

Officials at construction union Ucatt want to see all site managers qualified under the industry-standard Site Management Safety Training Scheme, run by ConstructionSkills.

The demand formed part of the union’s submission to last month’s Construction Forum ordered by Work and Pensions secretary Peter Hain following a 28% increase in death rates on site. The forum concentrated on small sites in the housing and refurbishment sectors.

A UCATT spokesman said: ‘We have found that some site managers lack necessary experience, for example when getting promoted to a much larger site or when being put on a site manager post straight after graduating from university.

‘We also believe that, in particular on smaller sites, site managers often do not receive the training necessary to be competent to deal with all requirements of the role.’

The union is also calling for an increase in the number of Health and Safety Executive inspectors covering construction and the re-introduction of roving safety reps to tour smaller jobs.

Hain told the forum that the industry must do its part: ‘Long-term sustained change will not happen without a change of culture, values and behaviours.

‘The construction industry must take ownership and work side-by-side with trade unions and government to take action and drive down these unacceptable deaths.’

Source

Construction Manager