Smiles and Pageantry Greet Britain's New Construction Rules
Britain's new construction safety regulations were launched last Thursday with appropriate pageantry at an industry stakeholder event held at one of London's historic Underground stations, St. Pancras. Attending the event was the Minister for Health and Safety, Lord McKenzie, and a representative group of senior construction industry leaders.
The new regulations were developed through a partnership between the Health and Safety Executive and the construction industry, and HSE said it expects to see "a step change improvement" in health and safety performance. "Construction is a boom industry, contributing around £256 billion per year by turnover to the UK economy and employing over two million people in around 250,000 firms. However, the industry remains undeniably dangerous and all too often demonstrates the unacceptable human cost of getting things wrong," Lord McKenzie said.
The new regulations are "based on sensible risk management and practical application. I urge the industry to play its part in ensuring the principles behind these regulations are widely and effectively promulgated, and put into practice. This will bring both health and safety and business benefits to all concerned," said Stephen Williams, HSE's chief inspector of construction.