Ad
Sunday, August 10, 2025
23.1 C
London

The Voice of Scaffolding Since 2008  |  U.K. Edition

GKR Scaffolding scoops top construction award

- Advertisement -

Scaffolding and access specialists GKR Scaffolding has won the Construction News Health, Safety & Wellbeing Excellence award.

The multi-award-winning business based in London picked up the accolade via an interactive virtual award ceremony, hosted by comedian Tom Allen and Construction News editor Lem Bingley.

The Construction News said GKR had taken behavioural training and wellbeing to the next level by identifying the cultural flaw that hinders people’s ability to learn and drive continuous improvement in safety.

Their award entry focussed on the firm’s cultural drive to improve psychological safety with its ‘Speak Up’ campaign.

The company’s internal initiative encourages high performing teams to record making more mistakes, including in safety, which they can openly learn from. The high levels of trust also mean GKR’s staff are comfortable sharing ideas. It is also the foundation for better mental health at work due to providing openness, support and involvement within the business.

GKR has said they are in the process of training all supervisors and managers in how to integrate psychological safety into their management styles.

GKR Strategy Director, Helen Gawor said: “The elephant in the room is that we have a blame culture in construction. The stifles our ability to learn how to work safer as people fear speaking up. This environment does nothing to support our mental health either.

Training staff to manage people in a way that creates trust and psychological safety means overcoming the outdated leadership styles connected with authority that we still see too often in our industry.

There is little point promoting wellbeing, safety and innovation initiatives unless we fix our culture.”

The Construction News judges commented: “This was an excellent submission, detailing how initiatives can drive change within an organisationAs a scaffolding company providing a service to principal contractors, GKR has continued to evolve and give health, safety and wellbeing all the same billing. In addition, the judges were impressed by the excellent commitment to training and development for staff and can see the impact this is having on the culture of the business.”

- Advertisement -

Popular Categories

Most Read >

Pilosio Partners with Sky Climber to Bring FlyDeck System to North America

Italian scaffolding manufacturer Pilosio has entered the North American...

Scaffolding Association Joins Build UK to Boost Industry Voice

The Scaffolding Association has formally joined Build UK as...

NASC and SAIA Join Forces to Elevate Global Scaffold Standards

The National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) and the...

Scaffolding Industry Mourns the Loss of Founding Leader David Spice

Christchurch, New Zealand — The scaffolding community across New...

New Zealand to Ease Scaffolding Rules on Construction Sites

New Zealand is set to overhaul its scaffolding regulations...
- Advertisements -

Related Articles >

TRAD UK Scoops Top Health and Safety Honour at Altrad President’s Awards

TRAD UK has been recognised with a major industry accolade for its commitment to health, safety and wellbeing, winning the Best HSE Campaign at the 2025 Altrad President’s Awards. The award celebrates TRAD UK’s...

Latest Topics

NASC and SAIA Join Forces to Elevate Global Scaffold Standards

The National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) and the...

Pilosio Partners with Sky Climber to Bring FlyDeck System to North America

Italian scaffolding manufacturer Pilosio has entered the North American...

Scaffolding Association Joins Build UK to Boost Industry Voice

The Scaffolding Association has formally joined Build UK as...

ScaffCycle Launches to Help Firms Trade Surplus Scaffold

A new online platform designed to help scaffolding companies...
- Advertisement -