A £15m construction project to remake Banbridge Academy is being heralded as an example of best practice in health and safety in Northern Ireland.
John Graham (Dromore) Ltd is trialling a number of new health and safety measures in the Banbridge project, which was one of four demonstration projects launched by Constructing Excellence Northern Ireland at an exhibition in Belfast last month.
They aim to share best practice within the industry, encourage local firms to share knowledge and learn from each other in order to perform better.
A Constructing Excellence spokesperson said, "The Banbridge Academy new-build and refurbishment project is paving the way for innovations in health and safety excellence. The combination of management driven processes and behavioural based safety strategies is driving a cultural revolution in site based health and safety."
Keith Patrick of John Graham Ltd said that they established mobile-phone zones on site. He explained that, "In the same way that they are a distraction to drivers they can be a distraction on a construction site and while we have banned their use on other sites, here we are trialling a more flexible approach, while staying safe, and it is working very well. We have set up cordoned-off areas, which are well sign-posted, and everyone knows that's where to go to take or make calls."
Glove policy is another of the company's target areas, with site-workers being advised that they must wear gloves, unless they can clearly demonstrate that their work poses no risk of injury to their hands. The company is also trialling behavioural based safety in an attempt to instil a safety culture so that workers will observe safety measures, not because they fear being disciplined, but because they recognise and accept it as the right thing to do.
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