Construction Employers Federation (CEF) has launched a new month-long initiative, Safety Reboot, in January 2021 as a chance to refocus on important areas of Site Health and Safety. Heron Bros. is proud to support this important initiative which will be implemented across all our sites throughout the UK & Ireland, we are also encouraging our subcontractors to participate.

The aim of the initiative is to encourage construction companies to stop work for about fifteen minutes, once a week throughout January, to take time to focus on key areas of health and safety. Returning after Christmas can be difficult, people can be less focused after all the festivities and it can take time to get back into the swing of things on site. It is times like this when there is an increased likelihood that accidents will occur.

To help regain focus the topic for the first week will be site reinduction. The CEF Health and Safety Committee has gathered resources on several topics which companies can choose from throughout January. The resources consist of questions to aid conversation and interaction between the workforce on each topic. Of course, given the current circumstances it is essential that social distancing is observed during any stoppage. Companies are encouraged to get involved and to use these short stoppages as a time for staff to really engage with each other on the important topics of health and safety.

Caroline Hughes, SHEQ Manager at Heron Bros. said “After being away from work over the festive period it might take some time to regain focus on the job at hand. Dark January days make it harder to return to work but in construction, every person is responsible for being alert and creating a safe work environment the minute they step onto the site.

The Safety Reboot Initiative is used to refresh the idea that health & safety and construction risks are also a priority, especially while there is so much focus on Covid-19.  We hope by participating in this initiative and our ongoing commitment to health and safety, it will pay off on all our projects to ensure zero incidents for January and throughout the coming year.  Heron Bros is proud to be part of the initiative with CEFNI and hope to reach as many of our construction operatives as possible with Safety Reboot throughout January.”

Now, more than ever, it is important to highlight the great work carried out by construction companies from Northern Ireland to keep their workforces and sites safe. With that in mind, please share what your company is doing as part of Safety Reboot on social media under the hashtag #safetyreboot.

Resources, including question packs and discussion aids on each topic, can be found here: https://www.cefni.co.uk/news/safety-reboot-resources