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Construction Industry Advisory Network (CONIAN) launched

HSE has launched a “new advisory network” aimed at giving all areas of the construction industry a voice. The Construction Industry Advisory Network (CONIAN) is a newly formed stakeholder network, bringing together a wider representation of organisations and workers from across the construction industry to:

• Share – provide a platform for sharing good practice and behaviour; and
• Support – reach and support those that need to improve health and safety performance.

The launch event was held on Thursday 7 December 2017 and brought together representatives from government departments, trade unions, construction businesses and trade associations.

A new online community aimed at sharing knowledge, good practice and responding to risks from changes in the workplace and new technologies was announced.

Information concerning the CONIAN online presence is expected at a later date. The existing CONIAC web pages will no longer be updated and there will be a single new HSE website platform for all CONIAC and CONIAN related information.

CONIAN will support CONIAC

The long-established Construction Industry Advisory Committee (CONIAC) advises HSE and relevant stakeholders of emerging health and safety developments and risks and agrees plans for the promotion of effective risk control.

CONIAC has now been aligned to delivering the all industry HSE Help Great Britain Work Well Strategy through five Working Groups and CONIAN will feed into the CONIAC working groups as illustrated below.

Sensible practices and innovation

Speaking after the launch Peter Baker, Director of HSE’s Construction Division and Chief Inspector of Construction, said:

“As part of our drive under Help Great Britain Work Well to promote broader ownership of health and safety, this inaugural event focused on how the construction industry can work together through CONIAN to support, assist and take the lead in delivering objectives shaped around reducing risk.

CONIAN will not only give the diverse areas of construction industry a voice, it will help HSE and industry to identify and share the many examples of sensible practices and innovation, as well as understand the reasons for poor health and safety performance and behaviours within our communities and reach those who need help. Ultimately, it is through working together with the aim of reducing ill health, death and injury that we will set a direction for managing present and future construction risks.”

Gren Tipper, Operations Director at the Construction Clients’ Leadership Group, who attended the event said:

“The CCLG were delighted to attend and participate in the newly formed CONIAN meeting yesterday. We are really pleased to see and be part of the HSE’s Help Great Britain Work Well campaign through the CONIAC Working Groups where the whole of industry is coming together to support better health and safety performance within the construction sector.

“Industry representation and engagement at the CONIAN meeting yesterday was really impressive and the language used really reinforced the messages about improving industry performance in the widest sense in line with the Industrial Strategy for Construction. Well done HSE.”

This article was posted on 10th January 2018