Safety - Pay it forward!
Although construction companies in Poland are competing for contracts and clients on the daily basis, there is one thing that for many years brings them together. It’s safety. For this reason, Mostostal Warszawa and eleven Polish general contractors have decided to join their forces. Soon will start the greatest action of the Association for Safety in the Construction: Safety Week 2017 (08-14 May).
Safety Week is a well-recognised, joint initiative in the Polish market which for the fourth year in row organise member companies of the Association. Each year it involves many activities such as equipment demonstrations, training, lectures, e.g. exercises comprising evacuation, safe unloading at the building site, first aid training.
Safety Week is a great and important event for the construction sector in Poland. In previous editions, 30.000 employees, both ours and our contractors’, took part in it each year at the sites across the country. ‘Safety – pay it forward!’ is the main theme of the Safety Week 2017. Within seven days employees will take part in a series of training and demonstrations. It is a fine opportunity to take up workshops and exercises in the field.
“This year’ theme of the Safety Week: ‘Safety – Pay it forward!’ reminds us of responsibility not only for ourselves but also for other people working on the site. So far, activities of the Association have been targeted at physical workers in order to make them realise that ignoring safety regulations puts in danger people’s lives. Nevertheless, in accordance with the principle saying that the example comes from the top, this year we want to focus on the OHS thinking of high ranked employees: management and on-site supervision staff. Taking care of health and safety rules at every level in the network hierarchy, brings us closer to fulfil mission of zero accidents in the construction industry – said Mariusz Piątkowski, Head of OHS Department at Mostostal Warszawa.
Let us remind that Association for the Safety of the Construction support: National Labour Inspectorate (Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy), Polish Association of Construction Engineers and Technicians(Polski Związek Inżynierów i Techników Budownictwa), Budowlani Trade Union (Związek Zawodowy „Budowlani”), Polish Association of the Construction Industry Employers(Polski Związek Pracodawców Budownictwa) and Polish Chamber of Civil Engineers (Polska Izba Inżynierów Budownictwa). The Association is ready to engage new representants of the construction sector who want to participate in the process of safety improvement.
At this point, Mostostal Warszawa and the remaining companies of the Association implemented a series of occupational safety solutions applicable to all members, e.g. minimum health and safety requirements for the subcontractors, the annex concerning OHS regulations to agreements with subcontractors, guidelines to safe working instructions, cyclic training for employees, obligation to use protective glasses at every building site and finally the Safety Week.