Health, Safety & Wellbeing

On a recent project under construction, a reporter became aware of cases where main structural steel sections were “butchered” to accommodate plastic foul drainage runs. Flanges and webs were compromised significantly. This was a BIM project and the clashes should have been picked up, but much of the detailing was passed down the supply chain to sub-contractors who had no BIM capability, meaning that the co-ordination of some key elements was not properly carried out in advance of construction.

Lea Ackerman, Marketing Co-ordinator at US company GSky, says car parks need not be the epitome of the concrete jungle.

Steph Palmer, Training Officer at BriggsAmasco, says Covid-19 is even more reason to pay attention to your mental health

Individuals working with metalworking fluids as part of their day-to-day role risk developing a host of respiratory illnesses. SOCOTEC says best practice reduces that risk

More than 2,000 people each year in the UK suffer eye injuries in the workplace, with 10%-20% of those injured experiencing temporary or permanent vision loss.

Michael Brown from Metal and Modular, discusses the need to reduce exposure to noise, airborne particles and vibration at installation sites

CityFibre and its construction partner Callan Connect are testing on a live construction site a new technology that prevents hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), also known as white finger.

Confidential Reporting on Structural Safety. Report 958: Roof collapse at primary school.

Cutting air pollution and improving green spaces in cities would immediately improve the health of the poorest people in society, notes a report from the European Environment Agency.

Ideal Industries has launched a Student Safe Isolation Kit, designed especially for trainee electricians.

Anthony Culshaw, Technical Director at Britlift Ltd, discusses the safety issues of lifting modular homes, container structures and pre-cast components

The CIOB report Understanding Mental Health in the Built Environment shows 26% of construction industry professionals thought about taking their own lives in 2019 – before the Covid-19 pandemic had hit the industry – and 97% recorded being stressed at least once in the last year.

REHAU is advising that contractors consider fire safety regulations more closely alongside acoustic performance when specifying soil and waste drainage solutions for high-rise developments.

An RCPCH report underlines the importance of indoor air quality and suggests all built environment agencies invest in public health

Mental health first aid trainer Sally Desborough discusses the difference that having this on-site can make

Steve Gardner, Managing Director of Ecolighting UK, says poor lighting can put the health of the workforce at risk

Congratulations Kyran Sze, CABE Hong Kong Chapter Chair, for his award of Honorary Fellowship by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).

Alcohol-based hand sanitisers used in the fight against Covid-19 are flammable.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance Indoor air quality
at home noted that as we spend 90% of our lives inside, poor air quality within buildings affects our health.

Research into the cracking of concrete arch dams due to uplift pressure and seismic load by academics Mohammed Noori Hussein, Dr. Muhammad Jawad Kadhim and Dr. Thair Jabbar Mizhir Alfatlawi.