Construction Safety Week 19 -23 October

2 October 2020

Est. Reading: 2 minutes

This year is a challenging year for everyone in all walks of life. In a construction context, to add to the normal complexities of managing health and safety issues in 2020, there is now the added complication of managing Covid-19. While the danger posed by Covid-19 is always present, we must not lose sight of the dangers posed by the day-to-day operations of a construction site and the vigilance and planning needed to maintain safety.

A key fact to remember for all working in this industry is that seven people have lost their lives so far in 2020 from accidents.

Construction Safety Week is an opportunity to reflect on aspects of safety, health and overall wellbeing and to promote its importance throughout the workforce. It is recommended to review past activities and to learn from successes, failures and near misses. By sharing experiences, we may eliminate avoidable accidents, enhance worker morale and increase productivity.

Construction Safety Week 2020 – Mission

The construction industry’s collective mission for Construction Safety Week 2020 is to partner together to:

Eliminate accidents and incidents on construction sites in Ireland
Promote a healthy culture of sharing lessons learned and best practice case studies in safety, health and wellbeing
Reflect on the positive initiatives taken and celebrate achievements in good safety performance, whilst appreciating the potential consequences of failing to act responsibly in terms of safety and health
Continue to work with colleagues and others to strengthen the construction industry’s safety and wellbeing culture
Reinforce the Covid-19 prevention message.

What is Construction Safety Week 2020

Construction Safety Week is an initiative of the Construction Safety Partnership Advisory Committee (CSPAC). This is a grouping of all the main stakeholders in the construction sector in Ireland – employers, Unions, State Bodies (in conjunction with the Health and Safety Authority ) and professional bodies.

The collective objective is to continue to highlight the issues of health and safety in the Irish construction industry and to drive continual improvement.

Good health and safety depend on co-operation between all parties on a project – from client to designers and contractors – everyone’s safety depends on their co-workers or the person working beside you or above you.

The mission for this week is to re-focus on health and safety, and it’s a call to action for companies of all sizes to run a safety event this week.