Construction World May 2021

are compliant. Show us that you have a robust system in place that you are managing properly and that you are being independently audited, so that we can have confidence that you are managing your HSE and protecting your employees as well as we are ours. To assist such smaller players, we offer a ‘Virtual Safety Officer’ (VSO). What we are finding is that a lot of contractors, in construction and manufacturing in particular, struggle to afford such a full-time resource. We can then engage with that contractor and offer hours of work as opposed to a full-time service. This is based on their scope of work and the attendant requirements for them to become fully compliant. Not only is this a highly cost-effective option, it also gives such contractors the assurance that they are being proactive instead of reactive in terms of their HSE requirements. Essentially such contractors can avail themselves of our vast expertise and resources. The ‘new normal’ ushered in by COVID-19 has resulted in us being much smarter in the way we deploy technology. We have been so used to conducting risk assessment on-site, but a lot of the documentation can be completed online instead of needing a face- to-face discussion. Obviously, HSE professionals with the necessary

experience and expertise are critical so that they can identify the inherent risks. I have been in the industry for 25 years, for example, and it is this breadth and depth of both knowledge and innovation that continues to us the leading edge. ▄

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD MAY 2021