An at-a-glance guide to occupational health assessments for construction workers has been published by the organisation set up to develop the industry’s new occupational health scheme.
Constructing Better Health (CBH), the construction industry-backed scheme, has developed an occupational health assessment matrix of standards designed to give firms information on a range of health assessments and allow them to match them with specific job profiles. It is aimed at construction industry employers and occupational health service providers, and summarises what health surveillance, dependant on the risk assessment, should be undertaken.
The 21 standards covered are coded and identified in one of four categories: statutory health assessments strongly recommended assessments recommended and safety-critical-role worker assessments. Statutory health assessments, for example, include respiratory health, hearing, hand-arm vibration syndrome checks and chest x-rays among the listed standards, while the category for safety-critical workers would be relevant to mobile plant operators, high-speed road workers and rail trackside workers.
CBH chief executive Michelle Aldous said: “Constructing Better Health will help generations of construction workers and their families – this matrix, though just one small element of the work undertaken, makes a significant contribution.”
In a separate development, Chesham OH firm Healthcare Connections has become the first provider to be successfully registered and accredited to CBH standards. The accreditation means a firm can deliver a range of health screening services set out to CBH standards.
Healthcare Connections predominately serves the rail industry but also works closely with the construction, haulage and business and financial sectors.
Chief executive Alison Brown said: “It is important that all construction companies implement and back the CBH standards to improve the health and wellbeing, and therefore the safety, of the construction workforce.”
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