On May 23-29, the Safety Week will be held for the ninth time. This is the biggest initiative in Poland aiming to improve safety on construction sites in our country. The organizer of the action is the Alliance for Safety in Construction Industry. So far, the initiative has covered construction sites in 400 different locations in Poland and has reached over 100 000 construction workers. This year’s edition is accompanied by the motto “Work’s done, safety still on!”. Unibep SA has been part of the Alliance since 2015.
The Alliance for Safety in Construction Industry was established in 2010 as a coalition of leading general contracting companies operating on the Polish market. Currently, the Alliance has been signed by 15 largest general construction contractors in Poland: Budimex, Eiffage,Erbud, Eurovia, Hochtief Polska, Karmar, Mostostal Warszawa, Mota-Engil, NDI, Polimex Mostostal, Porr, Skanska, Strabag, Unibep, and Warbud.
The ultimate objective of the Alliance remains unchanged: zero accidents on construction sites. Other priorities are: promoting the OSH culture, raising awareness of risks related to work on a construction site, as well as minimising those risks and preventing accidents. The signatories want to achieve this by implementing safety standards, including introduction of systemic solutions in the field of occupational safety and health as well as educational activities and trainings. As part of the Alliance, there has been established a platform for the exchange of knowledge in the field of safety and it allows for joint analysis of accidents. The Alliance has been promoting safe work for nine years, also through the Safety Week, an event, addressed to all signatories and subcontractors on construction sites.
The main them of this year’s Safety Week is the culture of security in a broader context considered as a process that should include values, specific attitudes, meeting particular standards, and have education in construction environment as well. This was reflected in the motto accompanying the 9th edition of the action “Work’s done, safety still on!”.
“The Safety Week is the culmination of our year-long efforts. We all work hard to raise the standards and level of safety on construction sites. It requires a shift in the way of thinking and new skills related to the organisation of work, often the employee involved in an accident is the one who could have prevent the accident. Safety on Polish construction sites has changed a lot in recent years. Everyone puts a lot of effort into it, especially companies united in the Alliance for Safety in the Construction Industry, which implement common procedures and solutions — said Michał Wasilewski, Coordinating Director of the Alliance for Safety in the Construction Industry.
As in previous years, the event will cover all construction sites of members of the Alliance for Safety throughout Poland. Awareness of occupational safety among employees will be built through lectures, presentations, and talks. The Book of Ideas prepared especially for the Safety Week includes activities proposed for implementation on construction sites of the Alliance signatories. Among the proposed activities in the area of OSH, we can find, among others trainings and protective equipment for work at height, on-site workshops increasing the knowledge on potential hazards, ways of eliminating them, and rules of correct conduct at work, as well as some sport exercises, review of tools, and first aid training.
The data from the report of the Agreement for Safety in Construction shows that the number of casualties in accidents on construction sites in Poland has decreased almost twice over the 10 years of operation of the organisation, from 8 684 to 4 743. The number of fatalities per 100 000 employees has decreased fourfold in the construction industry today, compared with the last decade. This is largely due to the Alliance of the biggest construction companies in Poland and its work for the improvement of work safety.
The activities of the Alliance for Safety in the Construction Industry come with the support of: Chief Labour Inspector, Central Institute for Labour Protection – National Research Institute, Social Insurance Institution, Polish Association of Construction Engineers and Technicians, Polish Chamber of Civil Engineers, Trade Union Budowlani, Polish Association of Construction Employers, National Association of Occupational Health and Safety Workers, and Trade Union “Solidarność” – National Branch Secretariat for Construction. The partners of the Alliance are the Polish Association of Special Foundations Contractors, the Association of Commercial Concrete Producers, and the Polish Chamber of Commerce of Scaffolding.
