Safety Schemes in Procurement – real savings to contractors on the ground Back in 2009, Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) set out to achieve a health and safety prequalification approach, for transparent, simple, strategic procurement, which was supported by Health and Safety Executive (HSE). A primary aim for SSIP was to establish a consistent approach...Continue Reading
What is SSIP? SSIP is a recognised health & safety standard, almost a pre-requisite for providing works and other services. Supported by the HSE SSIP aims to streamline prequalification and encourage straightforward mutual recognition between its Member Schemes. SSIP Approval Fees Prices vary depending on business size and the number of personnel (staff) PQS has...Continue Reading
Online trader Andrew Weeks was caught following an investigation by Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards, which discovered that Mr Weeks was making construction industry skill cards at his printing firm (Nuneaton Print) and selling them via his website. Weeks was charged under Section 9 of the Fraud Act 2006 for the production and sale of...Continue Reading
Research from consultant Arcadis shows the industry needs to recruit over 400,000 people each and every year between now and 2021 – equivalent to one worker every 77 seconds – to cope with predicted workloads. The greatest need is for carpenters and joiners, where demand accounts for nearly one sixth of all national resource requirements. Plumbers, Electricians, and Bricklayers...Continue Reading
Designers working on construction projects must consider how contractors will be kept out of harm’s way from the outset of their planning, a meeting of safety and health professionals heard. Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM), which came into force last April, designers “must take all reasonable steps” to assist all those...Continue Reading
The building of a £1bn tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay has been given the go-ahead by the UK government. Tidal Lagoon Power (TLP) says it will now negotiate how much subsidy will be paid for the energy. That is still a big hurdle for TLP, which wants five other lagoons on the west UK coast...Continue Reading
Trade bodies representing specialist subcontractors and major contractors have confirmed they are merging to create a single body. The National Specialist Contractors Council and UK Contractors Group agreed the move following weeks of talks. Both sides will formally rubberstamp the move next month and the new organisation will be operational from September. The merged body will...Continue Reading
EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, is reminding manufacturers not to get caught out by thinking that ‘construction’ means just that when the new Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM 2015) come into force on 6 April. CDM is a revision of existing regulations designed to protect the health and safety of people when building, using and...Continue Reading
Subject to Parliamentary approval, new Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) will come into force on 6 April 2015. The HSE has published it’s draft Legal (L) Series guidance PDF on the legal requirements for CDM 2015. It’s being made available before the Regulations come into force on 6 April to help anyone...Continue Reading
A national targeted inspection focussing on health risks for construction workers saw enforcement action taken at one in six of hundreds of sites visited. During a concentrated two-week period of proactive inspections, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) demanded improvements, and in some cases put an immediate stop to work activities, where they fell short...Continue Reading
