Robert Biggs (left) monitoring a site
The construction industry started the Considerate Construction Scheme in 1997 to improve its image. Nick Warburton spoke to Robert Biggs, one of the scheme’s senior monitors, about how it strives to drive up standards and promote best practice
Whatever its scale, construction-related activity is keenly felt in local communities; after all, most construction work takes place in sensitive locations. In an ideal world, all construction activity should present a positive image of the industry, one that reflects competent management, efficiency, awareness of environmental issues, a strong safety ethic and a consideration for local neighbourhoods.
Unfortunately, that is not always the case, which is where the Considerate Constructors Scheme comes in. A not-for-profit, independent organisation founded by the construction industry, and recommended by central and local government as well as many large private sector clients, the national initiative aims to drive up standards of practice and thereby enhance the sector’s image.
To date, it has registered and monitored over 85,000 sites.
Code of practice
The voluntary scheme is open to sites, companies and suppliers of all types and size and for every type of construction activity. However, anyone that registers, whether that is through its site registration, company registration or supplier registration, has to commit to the scheme’s code of considerate practice, which requires them to:
* care about appearance by ensuring sites appear professional and well managed;
* respect the community by giving utmost consideration to their impact on neighbours and the public;
* protect and enhance the environment;
* secure everyone’s safety by attaining the highest levels of safety performance; and
* value their workforce by providing a caring and supportive working environment.
Once registered, new members will receive an information pack, which includes a monitors’ checklist outlining these five commitments in more detail so that they know what is expected of them under the scheme. They also receive posters to display outside the site. This contains a contact number for the site manager, the registration number and a free-phone telephone number for the scheme’s administration office, which can provide assistance with any queries or concerns.
“The idea of the poster is that it lets the public know that the site is signed up with the scheme,” explains Mr Biggs. “If any member of the public has any issues or concerns with the site, they have the option to speak to the site manager in person or raise their concern with the scheme via the free-phone number displayed on the posters.”
Depending on the length of the contract, one of the scheme’s monitors (an experienced and senior industry professional) will visit the site manager about a quarter of the way through the registration and check that they are adhering to the scheme’s code of considerate practice.
The site manager will spend several hours walking and talking the monitor through what they are doing and how they go about meeting these commitments. A second visit takes place towards the end of the registration to assess any progress the site has made in improving its image.
“The whole point of the scheme is that it gives organisations areas to think about. The monitoring visits are designed to encourage best practice and improvement and take the form of a coaching and mentoring exercise,” explains Mr Biggs.
Site visits
Armed with a checklist that contains 50 questions, ten for each of the five commitments, the monitor’s role is to highlight areas where they feel improvements are necessary but also to congratulate sites when their initiatives and working practices are of a high standard.
After each visit, the monitor produces a report that covers all of the issues discussed while on the site and includes a score out of 50 to reflect the level of performance observed at the time.
During each visit, the monitor assigns a score of between 1 and 10 to assess performance. The first four questions under each section of the checklist are highlighted in bold and to achieve compliance (a minimum score of five), the monitor needs to be satisfied that the site answers each question.
A ‘non-compliant’ score is less than a five. For example, if it’s minor non-compliance (four points), a letter will be sent to the site, along with a request that the issue highlighted in the monitor’s report be resolved.
For lower scores (one-two points) a letter will be sent to the site outlining the issues and instructions to take immediate action to resolve it. The monitor will then arrange a follow-up visit to establish that compliance has been achieved.
At the other end of the spectrum, industry trailblazers will usually be awarded scores of eight or nine. Eight is classed as excellent, and a site that achieves this score over all five sections, a total of 40 out of 50, is potentially an award-winning score (depending on industry performance in any given year).
Every year, the scheme hosts its annual national site awards and national company awards. Winners are picked from the highest performing registered sites and companies. To score a nine (exceptional), the site or company has to prove that it is at the forefront of industry best practice.
“Scoring 50 out of 50 is extremely challenging because sites have got to do well enough to get a nine and they’ve also got to show that they are doing something innovative; usually something that nobody else has done in the UK when compared against their peers,” explains Mr Biggs.
“As you can imagine, to get a ten is pretty difficult and to get a score of 50 is even harder because you’ve got to do five innovative things all at once.”
Mr Biggs adds that many of the major contractors run league tables for site managers and it is this competitive edge that has helped to develop the scheme.
Scheme registration
When it all began back in 1997, site registration was the first form of registration open to the industry. In 2009 the scheme introduced company registration, which is designed for small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
“What we’ve found is that most of the nationals would sign up everything with us but we weren’t attracting enough of the SMEs,” explains Mr Biggs.
It works in a similar way to site registration, the main difference being that companies sign up for a year and all of their projects are covered within the registration.
In 2014, the scheme started its latest offering – supplier registration, which works in a similar way to company registration, and covers suppliers such as skip companies.
“For a skip company, we’ll go to their depot, see how it’s managed and comment on that,” explains Mr Biggs.
“Another time, we’ll go out with the driver and spend perhaps half a day seeing what they do and comment on how that works. It could be driver safety; it could be how they consider driving down a residential road; it could be how they interact with the site when they get there.”
The impact the scheme is having on improving the image of the industry doesn’t stop there – earlier in the year, the scheme launched the Best Practice Hub – a new online resource that hosts a wealth of best practice tips, expertise, guidance and case studies for everyone to use across the industry.
“We’ve had a great response from the industry, with over 900 entries from construction organisations large and small,” he concludes.
“It’s testament to how registered sites, companies and suppliers, are continually improving and sharing their knowledge and expertise across the industry.”
For more information on the scheme, visit: www.ccscheme.org.uk
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