Revitalising environmental, health and safety management in public sector construction projects - a case study

In the UK, increasing scrutiny is being paid to how government departments procure construction works and, in turn, influence their health and safety performance. 1 This scrutiny is warranted, as government departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies procure 40 per cent of construction works (by value) in the UK. 2 Government departments are a key influence on the performance of the construction industry, and calls have been made in recent years for them to improve their procurement procedures. 3 In the past, the attention paid by client departments to the environmental, health and safety management of public sector construction projects was limited by factors such as Crown immunity, a focus on time and cost, traditional procurement practices and political pressure to deliver projects on time. However, as this paper indicates, government departments can have a significant positive impact on environmental, health and safety performance when acting as clients for construction works. To demonstrate this, the paper describes how excellent performance was achieved on the Department for Work and Pensions Jobcentre Plus construction rollout programme by promoting partnering and integrated teams, employing a gateway management process, enhancing the planning supervisor role, setting contractual standards and systems, and improving consultation and training.