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Executive Report: “The greenest Games” Stringent rules governing the construction of facilities for the 2012 London Olympics could significantly change future working practices. Editor at Large, Nigel Strickland, considers the consequences for hirers. In May 2005, new rules concerning Europe’s largest construction project, the building of the 2012 Olympic Games facilities, were announced. They set out procurement principles for contractors to follow that would do more than just ensure work was completed on time and to budget. Sustainability and Health & Safety were to be key priorities throughout the entire project. From the start, a 35-tonne recycling machine was installed to sift and sort 70,000m3 of rubbish from under the VeloPark and Olympic Village sites. Working in conjunction with two soil washing machines, it has separated up to 500 tonnes of industrial and domestic waste per day into piles of glass, metal, concrete, soil and other materials for re-use on site or recycling off site. Such measures mean the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is on track to meet its target of recovering 90% of demolition materials. Its Head of Sustainable Development and Regeneration, Dan Epstein, said: “We are committed to making London 2012 the greenest Games in modern times. We have a major challenge to clear and clean the majority of the Olympic Park by Beijing 2008 and meet our tough targets to recycle or re-use materials wherever possible.” Operational precedents Since July 2007, the Olympic Stadium site has been transformed to prepare a solid foundation for the construction phase. The ODA is clearly setting operational precedents, which, if successful, will influence the way major projects are undertaken in this country, establishing a ‘green’ blueprint for the future. To understand the scale and groundbreaking complexity of this development, it is worth visiting the ODA web site (www.london2012.com) where every single aspect of the project is open to public scrutiny. CITB-Construction Skills has estimated that, at the peak of activity, 12,000 workers will be employed at the various sites in the capital, with 18,000 more construction related jobs created elsewhere in the UK. Setting the highest Health & Safety standards has been made paramount and in the introduction to the ODA’s Health, Safety and Environmental Policy Statement, its Chief Executive, David Higgins states, “We shall integrate good HS&E performance as a core element in every planning, design and construction operation to achieve our aim of ‘safe and secure’.” The statement then declares these principles will apply to all staff, stakeholders, suppliers and sub-suppliers and will go beyond regulatory compliance. It lays out specific HS&E aims that include: the provision and use of an occupational health service for all workers on site; the minimisation of carbon emissions, optimisation of opportunities for efficient water use, re-use and recycling, and the identification of, sourcing and use of environmentally and socially responsible materials; and the development and maintenance of a positive HS&E culture throughout the supply chain. Demands for better information Last November, EHN reported on the rise of occupational health surveillance in construction. For the ODA, it is a key element of its Health & Safety strategy and it will appoint an Olympic Site Occupational Health Team (OSOHT). All site workers will be advised and monitored on issues like noise, HAV, dust, fumes and hazardous substances. Such measures could see workers’ awareness of risks translated into demands for better information, training, and safer methods of working. Also, once a construction worker has acquired new knowledge and skills, that experience will be taken with them to future jobs. Hire companies with a good Health & Safety story to tell may find the OSOHT receptive to learning about new tools and equipment that reduce health risks. Roles and responsibilities permeate a contractor’s supply chain. The ODA aims to extend its HS&E commitment to incorporate the principal contractors’ systems, procedures and ways of working, including their own supply chains. Section 5.7 of the policy (‘Procurement and supply chain management’) states that “The supplier is responsible for ensuring that the competence of sub-suppliers to address HS&E matters is assessed, and only those capable of meeting the standards are appointed”. Furthermore, the ODA requires that, in addition to meeting their HS&E legal obligations, every supplier should engage with their workforce to achieve high standards of HS&E by establishing ‘effective mechanisms’. Toolbox talks and training would seem to represent an effective component of any hire company’s strategy in winning business from such contractors. CSCS (Construction Skills Certification Scheme) or equivalent cards are mandatory for all on-site workers, along with an Olympic Park site induction (within the security zone), and principal contractors must ensure suppliers comply. Hire companies must arrange for mechanics, delivery drivers, trainers and other personnel making site visits to hold CSCS cards, attend inductions and gain security clearance. Random visits by sales representatives from a hirer or supplier are unlikely to be welcomed! Different languages With 12,000 workers engaged at the peak of activity, it is a fair assumption that many will be non-English speaking. The ODA HS&E policy requests that suppliers are obliged to make appropriate arrangements to ensure that its HSE&E requirements are effectively communicated to, and understood by, all team workers. This raises an interesting question regarding the supply of operating instructions with hired equipment: is there a requirement for hire companies to provide details in different languages? And should equipment carry specific multi-lingual information and warnings, as the ODA HS&E policy suggests? Within the policy, certain tasks have been assigned a red, amber or green status. Procedures and materials on the red list must not be used, unless no alternative methods can be identified, and then only with the ODA’s specific agreement. The list, which is not exhaustive, includes concrete scabbling, demolition of concrete pile top sections with hand-held breakers, processes producing large quantities of dust (dry cutting and blasting), and procedures that may contaminate soil, water or air. Again, these offer opportunities for hirers who can provide users with effective alternatives. Procedures and materials on the amber list, such as chasing out concrete/ brick/blockwork walls for installing services, can only be used carefully and sparingly because they are deemed to represent significant risk. Finally, the green list of processes and materials is preferred, offering significant risk reduction or enhanced sustainability. Again the list is inconclusive, but includes off-site fabrication and assembly, pre-drilled concrete products, ‘half board’ sizes of plasterboard, water-efficient welfare units, recycled water for wheel washing and dust suppression. If off-site fabrication is to be encouraged, perhaps hire companies should turn their attention to manufacturing factories, rather than the traditional work site. Equally, it cannot be long before water recycling systems and more efficient water use become key features of welfare units for hire. The ODA HS&E policy also addresses working at height, tasks in confined spaces, loading/off loading vehicles, manual handling, noise, PPE and, even, the climate, so for hire companies intending to supply ODA contractors its 90 pages are essential reading. Moreover, if this document really sets precedents for construction in the future, then all hirers should digest it and understand its potential to shape the way their customers will work. • Executive Hire News › Archives › August 2008 › Executive Report › “The greenest Games”
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