Health and safety is one of ten themes that forms part of a landmark collaborative initiative aimed at maintaining and replicating the high standards set by the London 2012 project across the rest of the construction industry.
Set to be launched this evening (17 October) by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), Learning Legacy is a blueprint for the UK construction industry and marks the first time that a construction project in the UK has sought to capture intellectual capital on such a vast scale.
With the Government looking to capitalise on the positive effect that the London 2012 construction project has already had on the industry, the venture brings together the ODA, contractors, professional bodies – including IOSH – government and academia, and builds on the ethos set by the Authority of setting targets well above the industry benchmarks. Despite being the largest construction site in Europe, with more than 12,000 workers, the reportable accident rate on the Olympic Park is around a third of the construction-industry average and below the national average for all workplaces.
The programme’s centrepiece is a new website – www.london2012.com/learninglegacy – which will be open to contributions over time and is expected to become a comprehensive online library, to which companies of all shapes and sizes can refer. It has been created from more than 250 papers put together by the ODA and its supply chain, and also includes independent research by industry bodies and academics.
Alongside health and safety, the other themes that make up the Learning Legacy programme are: Design and engineering innovation; Equality, inclusion, employment and skills; Masterplanning and town planning; Procurement and supply-chain management; Project and programme management; Sustainability; Systems and technology; Transport; and Archaeology.
The health and safety element is broken down into the following sub-sections:
Speaking about the launch, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “The Olympic Park is a showcase for the best of British design, engineering, construction and project management. We want companies to win new contracts off the back of this success story but also to share the best practice across industry as a whole. Learning Legacy will ensure that important lessons are shared throughout the industry.”
ODA chair John Armitt added: “The Learning Legacy framework is the embodiment of a new benchmark that has been created in delivering Europe’s largest construction project to the ultimate deadline and within budget. The scale and speed of the coordinated UK effort to build the venues and infrastructure is unprecedented, and the knowledge and lessons gained during construction will both benefit the industry and act as a catalyst for inward investment.”
As a partner in the Learning Legacy programme, IOSH will be holding a series of events to help disseminate the lessons learned from the construction of the Olympic Park.
