Annually, around 3,000 workers in the Construction sector were suffering with ‘breathing and lung problems’ they believed were caused or made worse by their work, equivalent to 0.14% of workers in the sector. This rate is statistically significantly higher than the rate for workers across all industries (0.08%). When asked about exposures contributing to their illness conditions, almost 20% of workers reporting work-related respiratory problems identified ‘dusts from stone, cement, bricks or concrete’ as contributing to their condition.
McLaren are a supporter of Breath Freely, this is an industry driven initiative that aims to raise the awareness, offer guidance and control measures that are harming the individual both short and long-term. In order to deliver a clear message that covered all areas, a presentation and supporting documents were produced.
The initial presentation was delivered by SHE managers initially to the McLaren operation and commercial teams on all projects. The presentation was broken down into four parts:
- Definition and Statistics from the HSE
- Various forms of dust from construction activities
- Control measures and other measures that need to be in place so as to prevent both short and long term health issues
- External links to further help
The presentation then was delivered over a period of three months to operatives on the projects, this was backed up by a posters and handouts. Over 200 operation staff attended the presentation and in excess of 400 operatives attended.
The campaign has enabled numerous people within both our company and externally to be informed of the dangers dust can pose, and how important that the correct control measures are in place.
