Tideway has introduced a pioneering approach to assessing communication around health and safety that will leave a lasting legacy for the industry.

Analysing the exact cause, or combination of causes, of accidents is complex. There are many claims of links between health and safety incidents and poor communication, or a lack of understanding.

However, research has shown the importance of effective communication in improving health, safety and wellbeing. Workers whose first language is not English may also have low literacy levels, increasing safety risks and the challenge for effective communication.

In 2013, research commissioned by Tideway identified a specific number of incidents on other major infrastructure projects and construction sites that were clearly attributed to a misunderstanding of health and safety instructions or communication.

Guided by the philosophy that ‘we do it safely, or not at all’, Tideway looked at ways to prevent or remove these sorts of incidents. Working with Loughborough and Glasgow Caledonian Universities, we came up with a world first: a health and safety communication assessment for all project staff, tailored to the project’s requirements.

The assessment, conducted as part of all inductions, is designed to ensure that everyone can demonstrate an understanding of safety communication, focusing on some typical hazards.

Tideway and the two universities agreed the framework of a health and safety communications standard, based on the European Framework of

Better communication for a safer project

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DELIVERING A LASTING LEGACY

Reference for Language. A base level of understanding was set for all those working on the project, focused on the fundamentals of listening, speaking and reading.

Key terms and phrases were used to create a health, safety and wellbeing tutorial, using a simple screen-based multiple choice approach. A foundation level assessment was put in place for all employees, with an enhanced element for supervisors, managers and technical staff.

The communications assessment was launched in September 2015. All the questions had responses explaining why that particular aspect of communication was important, both for native and non-native English speakers.

Previous research on migrant workers found that supervisors with strong regional accents pose a significant communication challenge. Some questions were developed to test understanding in this context, using strong regional accents that may commonly be found on a construction site.

After running the assessment for several months, a

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The assessment structure includes the principles of watch, listen and understand

review identified that a significant number of people were getting poor scores due to the technical nature and the specific construction operative context of some questions. It was decided to amend the tutorial to focus more on generic multi-choice questions suitable for everyone at the foundation level. Other roles were added to provide more context using relatable site-based scenarios.

A better defined and more structured approach to the question set was created. The revised structure was:

• Watch, listen and understand—based on an introductory film

• Read and understand—based on text on the Tideway HSW mission statement

• Observe and understand—‘don’t walk by’

• See and understand—sign recognition

• Listen and understand—regional and non-English accents

Data analysis after four months of the revised assessment showed, on average, higher pass rates. The changes created a more representative test and pass rates improved as a result, although critically, the test is robust enough to identify staff where their standard of communication is not sufficiently high for them to be considered safe enough to work on the project.

Other projects have tried to address the communication challenge with solutions like no-text pictures, buddying and interpreters. Tideway has decided to set a requirement for, and assessment of, a base level of understanding by all staff for health and safety communication. In doing so, it has created a new standard for the industry, which we hope other projects will follow.