This summer will undoubtedly be remembered in history as truly record breaking – from Team GB's record haul of gold medals to the Olympic Games becoming the biggest national TV event ever. But for those with an interest in health and safety, records were being broken long before the athletes entered the Olympic Park and even before the first bricks were laid.

What has arguably been the largest construction project in Europe has also been one of the safest ever, with no work related fatalities and fewer than 130 reportable incidents in over 80 million working hours. These statistics are totally unprecedented within the construction industry, which has always been regarded as "high risk" and accounts for 27% of work related fatal injuries in Britain each year.

So, do the construction projects of London 2012 provide a legacy and herald a change in attitudes to health and safety? And what practical lessons can be learned for the future? This article focuses on steps that can be taken by businesses of all sizes and within all industries to improve worker involvement in health and safety decisions and thereby reduce risks.

Worker involvement at the Olympic Park

The scale of the various London 2012 construction projects resulted in the assembly of a huge workforce brought together from all parts of the country and beyond. Worker engagement and effective communications within teams are some of the key areas identified by the Health and Safety Executive as having significantly contributed to the exemplary safety record of the project.

The following case study demonstrates some of the new and practical solutions that were used to involve the workforce in finding solutions to reduce health and safety risks.

Case Study

A specialist contractor was required to install 12,000 seats in the Basketball Arena to a strict deadline. The contractor drafted the method statement for the installation process and then used a small team of employees to test it on a practice run using a model unit under site specific conditions.

Following feedback from the workforce, the contractor innovatively modified the method statement to include a map of the sequence of build, diagrams to explain instructions and processes and photographs of work in action.

The method statement was also changed as teams discussed progress at key stages of the project. All changes and modifications were tested and agreed with the workforce before they were put in place, ensuring that all employees understood the risks involved and how to minimise them effectively.

What else can businesses do?

Involving the workforce is vital to companies of all sizes and from a wide range of industries but it means much more than simply giving instructions. In addition to trade union representation, safety briefings and toolbox talks, the following communication initiatives used during the construction projects for London 2012 can be introduced by any business to improve worker involvement:

  • Include a slot during the induction process from a senior manager to get across the "why" of what must be done, rather than just setting rules and the need to comply with them
  • Communicate with the workforce through a variety of different forms (pictorial, written and face-to-face) and via a number of channels (such as daily briefings and posters)
  • Consider using personal testimonies (live or via DVD) from those who have lost a loved one or been injured in an accident to get employees to think about how their loved ones would be affected if they were involved in an accident
  • Make safety personal! Provide workers with health and safety actions to be completed within a given period of time
  • Implement observation cards to encourage the workforce to record both good and bad observations about activities on site and to take responsibility for finding a solution rather than simply reporting problems
  • Encourage workers to challenge their colleagues by observing and assessing a work area that is not their own (with the permission of those working in the area) to identify any health and safety issues
  • Introduce reward and recognition programmes to incentivise workers to contribute to good health and safety

The lessons from the London 2012 Games construction projects provide all businesses with the ideal opportunity to review their level of workforce involvement and strive to achieve gold standard in the future.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.