Controlling Exposures to Prevent occupational lung disease in the construction industry

Construction workers are 100 times more likely to die from ill health than from an accident at work

To address this issue, BOHS launched Breathe Freely in April 2015 – Breathe Freely is about reducing the risk of lung disease amongst construction workers – by raising awareness of the problems but also, providing solutions, to help employers how to better identify and manage the risks to health on their sites. The initiative has been launched by BOHS in conjunction with our partner organisations – Mace, HSE, Land Securities and Constructing Better Health.

We currently have over 160 supporters signed up. If your company hasn’t done so already, Sign up via www.breathefreely.org.uk These are companies who are committed to tackling respiratory health within their organisation, and to spreading the word to others.

There are three main elements to managing health in the construction industry: Wellbeing – ensuring workers are fit to do the job when they come to work Risk Prevention and control – ensuring that health risks are identified, assessed and appropriate control measures are implemented to ensure that workers’ short and long term health is not affected by their work Health surveillance – a check to ensure controls are effective. Ill health will only develop if they’re not

However, when construction companies start to take the health of their workforce seriously, too often they concentrate on well being and health surveillance But there is little point in making sure workers are fit and well when they come to work if they face risks while they are doing the job which affect their health. Then the health surveillance is going to pick up problems So it’s absolutely vital that health risks are identified and assessed so that appropriate control measures are put in place.

Effective health risk management requires all three elements Risk prevention and control is central to this.

As part of the Breathe Freely campaign, we have developed a number of free resources to help you to better understand how to manage workplace health risks. We have also produced a series of fact sheets which highlight the main hazards, highest risks and preferred control options for all the key construction trades.  On the website, just click on the images below to download the pdf of the fact sheets that are of interest to you.  

This is one example

Construction Managers Toolkit We’ve developed a Construction Manager’s toolkit of practical resources to help managers responsible for health and safety identify and assess the risks to health on their site and to communicate them to their workers.

We have also developed a fact sheet on RPE and Facial hair

Web based information hub www.breathefreely.org.uk The resources can be read and downloaded from the breathefreely website

HI Standard Self-Assessment Tool We have also developed the HI standard which sets out the key elements to help you to better manage workplace health risks and recognises the importance of prevention and control. This is based on a 6-point framework of good practice, and is a self-assessment tool that can be used by managers responsible for health and safety on construction sites. It can be used by companies of all sizes to assess how well they are preventing and controlling employees’ exposures to the risks from construction work that cause ill health and disease.

Identify, assess and manage workplace health risks The HI Management Standard is our response to the question of what does good look like. A simple self-assessment tool to help you identify, assess and manage health hazards in order to prevent or reduce the risk to worker health. The tool was developed as our response to the question ‘what does good look like’ in terms of workplace health risk management – which is the area we have seen is perhaps the least understood and therefore doesn’t always receive the appropriate amount of focus or resource. It is based on the fundamental principle that, if you are going to manage health well: “you have to properly manage workplace health risks”. Wellbeing and Health surveillance (the broader areas of occupational health) are important and all have a role to play – but if we are not managing health risks then workers will continue to be exposed to hazards which damage their health.

Considerate Constructors The tool was developed through extensive stakeholder consultation and based on the tried and tested Considerate Constructors Scheme format.

Considerate Constructors It’s a format that most construction companies in the UK are familiar with as the majority of construction sites sign up to the Considerate Constructor’s scheme. HI Management Standard Questions Prompts Score

The HI standard self-assessment tool will help you to identify strengths and weaknesses, set priorities and develop action plans The tool provides a series of questions, with guidance and examples, based around a six point framework of good practice. The six leading indicators have been designed to help companies to identify the key areas and then introduce, manage and improve their worker health protection (WHP) programmes, ensuring that the health risks are properly recognised, evaluated and controlled.

So that’s what we’ve done in the past 18 months. But we’ve also been working to move on to the next phase of the campaign…

Guidance for designers More resources and guidance, including guidance for designers

HI Standard Audit Scheme We are developing an audit scheme whereby in addition to using the HI standard tool to self-assess, you can bring in an auditor to do this for you and help you develop your action plans. This will launch around October 2017 – currently being piloted.

New qualification… As the experts in recognising, evaluating and controlling workplace health risks, we have worked closely with the construction industry to understand the training requirements of the industry. We have developed this course specifically to meet the need to upskill those responsible for health and safety in how to recognise and control hazards in the workplace. This is a new one day course, developed with industry expert partners and piloting with Land Sec, BB, VW, Mace and Tideway. This is being launched to the industry in January.

Controlling Exposures to Prevent occupational lung disease in the construction industry

What can YOU do? So we know there are problems. What can we do about them? Image source: http://turnerfox.co.uk/employers/

Adopt and implement the Hi Standard What can you do? Adopt and implement the Hi Standard A management standard developed to help ensure health hazards arising from the construction industry are identified, assessed and managed in order to prevent or reduce the risk to worker health.

What can you do? Use breathefreely fact sheets, case studies etc to help identify issues and solutions There are a lot of resources on the breathefreely website that can help you to identify the key health risks and possible solutions focusing on industry good practice. More are being added all the time If you have any examples of successful interventions, why not develop a case study to add to the website?

Get competent help where needed What can you do? Get competent help where needed It’s not rocket science! There are cost effective solutions for many of the common health risks in the construction industry. By using the resources available on the breathefreely information hub, HSE materials and from other sources you’ll probably be able to introduce appropriate measures. However, sometimes you might need help and it’s important that in such cases that you use someone who is competent. In many cases a qualified occupational hygienist may be able to help. You can find one using the BOHS directory of occupational hygiene services http://www.bohs.org/ohservices-directory/ http://www.bohs.org/ohservices-directory

Become an official campaign supporter What can you do? Become an official campaign supporter Sign up via www.breathefreely.org.uk

Help us develop case studies and good practice examples What can you do? Help us develop case studies and good practice examples We need more examples of good practice in the industry

Spread the word What can you do? Tell people about the initiative and the resources available.

open to anyone with an interested in worker health protection Join BOHS – open to anyone with an interested in worker health protection www.bohs.org/membership BOHS membership is open to anyone with an interest in worker health protection – membership starts at just £66 per year. If you want to increase your knowledge and understanding of health – in particular managing workplace health risks – why not join?

Join us and be part of the solution Health is a major issue in construction industry Industry needs to refocus Breathe Freely resources can help you to do that Join us and be part of the solution!! Join us and be part of the solution www.breathefreely.org.uk

Controlling Exposures to Prevent occupational lung disease in the construction industry