The January deadline for CSCS cards is now upon us. Health and safety is a major concern for D-Drill (Master Drillers) Ltd – practically, morally and financially. Ray O’Connor of D-Drill, explains why it all comes down to a question of training.

CSCS cards are now the measure of an individual’s standard of skills in health and safety practices. D-Drill has welcomed the move to unified standards of training in this crucial aspect of concrete cutting and drilling.

With an increasing emphasis on company statements of H&S policies, clients are demanding proof of compliance before any tender is issued. Proving your health and safety credentials is now as important as demonstrating your technical expertise.

Construction is an inherently dangerous industry, but within the ‘big picture’ of all building processes, diamond drilling and sawing is relatively safe. As a method of achieving accurate drilling, bursting or demolition, the service is cost-effective, quick and clean. Noise, dust, vibration and debris are all kept to a minimum. And accidents are rare – thanks to the efforts of operators such as ourselves, and associations such as the Drilling and Sawing Association, to introduce good H&S practices.

Like everything in the construction industry, safe working practices are governed by the Health and Safety Act 1974, requiring employers to keep their employees safe and putting an onus on operatives to look after themselves and their colleagues on site and report any potential dangers.

However, it is unrealistic to expect operatives to do this off their own bat. Common sense should dictate that no one stands under a wall that is about to be demolished or puts their hand close to a diamond wire saw. But common sense only goes so far – for most aspects of safe working practice, training is required.

How, for example, could a 17-year old fresh from school know that he should protect himself from the vibrations of a hand-held drill? Even experienced men cannot know every detail of the Health and Safety Act, yet they are expected to follow its requirements every moment of their working day.

D-Drill’s approach to health and safety training is rigorous. Establishing good working practices starts with good leadership and solid example. The company follows the Drilling and Sawing Association’s apprenticeship scheme - all recruits train ‘on the job’ with experienced men. However, this is just the most basic training.

The national safety standard is now an NVQ, leading to the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card. Around 80% of D-Drill’s operatives are CSCS accredited and the rest are working towards their NVQ.

To complement external training, there is regular internal training. A newssheet called ‘Toolbox Talks’ covers a difference topic each week – risk assessment, fire and chemicals, working at heights, how to lift heavy objects, and so on. Feedback from our employees shows that they find the information a useful reminder of on-site requirements.

There are occasions when the legal minimum is insufficient for individual clients and they may ask for specific H&S initiatives to be implemented as part of the contract. For example, when tendering for the job of cutting over 50,000 holes for Skanska at the new Derby City Hospital, our proposal had to address key issues of site safety - from personal protection equipment to a statement of how cores would be caught and disposed of.

Since no two jobs are ever the same, H&S has to be considered discretely for each tender. A thorough knowledge of the law enables us to plan and carry through a safety protocol for every site – from the moment we set foot on it, to the moment we depart, leaving the site clean tidy and safe for other trades to start work.