A new text service has been launched as part of a growing campaign to get scaffolders and other tradespeople to open up about their mental health over a cuppa.
The new service, launched by national charity Band of Builders, coincides with the return of the Big Brew – an industry-wide campaign led by the charity in a bid to shine a spotlight on the mental health crisis in construction, where two people are thought to take their own lives every day.
Launched last year and returning in October, the Big Brew aims to encourage more tradespeople and contractors to come together over a cuppa as the first step in seeking help with a range of issues from general anxiety – due to factors such as the cost-of-living crisis – to suicidal thoughts.
More than 250 Big Brew events are expected to take place in builders’ merchants and on construction sites across the UK, building on last year’s campaign and encouraging more people to seek help where needed.
New text service and tea scale
To build on the success of last year’s Big Brew campaign in highlighting issues with mental health in the construction industry, Band of Builders has launched a new text line so that tradespeople, contractors and their families struggling to open up in person can text BOB to 85258 at any time to get much-needed help.
Also new for this year is the Big Brew tea scale (an image of different strengths of cups of tea), which will act as an icebreaker to start conversations where tradespeople can ask one another where they rank on the scale.
The Big Brew – which is sponsored by Big Red Construction – is an initiative by national construction charity Band of Builders, a registered charity that helps members of the UK construction industry who are battling illness or injury through the completion of practical projects carried out by volunteer tradespeople using donated materials. The event aims to build on last year’s inaugural event, which saw more than 175 events held and raised enough money to fund a new free construction industry-only counselling service for two years.
Events are being held in October to coincide with World Mental Health Day, and the Big Brew organisers point to shocking figures that highlight the scale of the mental health crisis in construction.
Shocking figures
UK construction sector workers are nearly three times as likely to die by suicide than their counterparts in other industries.
The suicide rate of UK construction workers is estimated to be as high as two people every day.
Mental health issues are responsible for approximately a £37 billion cost to the UK construction industry every year.
90% of construction managers have struggled with their mental health.
Finding from a survey jointly organised by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) and the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA)
In the UK alone, 400,000 working days were lost to mental health issues in 2018 (55% of all days lost). Data from HSE
Peter Cape, the Big Brew lead at Band of Builders, can’t stress enough how a simple cup of tea or coffee can be the tipping point for tradespeople and contractors to open up to one another about their mental health.
“The first ever Big Brew highlighted just how much the construction industry was crying out for something that gave tradespeople and contractors the outlet to get together over a cuppa and discuss the wider issue of mental health and wellbeing – and open up individually to workmates or even staff at their local builders’ merchants,” said Peter.“The campaign is proving to be a vital lifeline at a time when suicide rates in the sector were already at one per day before the COVID pandemic – according to ONS figures – and it’s widely accepted that these have worsened to closer to two per day.“The challenge has been to make it as easy as possible for tradespeople and contractors to take that all-important first step and reach out for help. The new tea scale is a great icebreaker, prompting people to ask where their mental health is on the scale. And if someone isn’t in a place where they can open up face to face, the new text service is another way to get the ball rolling in seeking help.“It’s fair to say that construction workers, like everyone else in the UK, are facing difficult times with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, so it’s more important than ever that they have somewhere to turn to if they need to talk – whether that’s in person or via text.”
Peter thanked the construction industry for its ongoing support of the campaign.
“The industry’s reaction to the Big Brew has been incredible, with companies including the likes of Big Red Construction, Jewson, Talasey, DeWalt and Williams all supporting the campaign, hosting events and spreading the message to their customers and clients,” he added.“We know from feedback from last year that the Big Brew has already changed people’s lives – with tradespeople and contractors telling us that a simple cuppa with a workmate had been that all-important first step in admitting they were having issues with their mental health. In a few cases, there were people who were in crisis.”
Mike Lomas, Managing Director of Big Red Industries, praised the trailblazing work of the Big Brew and said that Big Red Construction was proud to be a supporter of a “brilliantly simple” campaign.
He said: “Through partnering with Band of Builders on this remarkable campaign, we hope not only to increase awareness of the mental health support services that are available but also to encourage other construction companies to join us in being part of the change. Big Red, big change.”
There’s still time to register interest in hosting a Big Brew event at https://bandofbuilders.org, and you can join in the conversation online by using the hashtag #GiveYourselfABreak.
MSA Safety is now offering a first-of-its-kind temporary horizontal lifeline that can help save time on projects through its intuitive and toolless installation features.
MSA says its new Temporary Horizontal Lifeline allows for a 75 per cent faster installation compared to traditional cable systems. The system’s integrated locking and tensioning mechanism eliminates the need for nuts, bolts and wrenches, a key feature that makes the system significantly easier and faster to install because there is no need for tools.
“Our new Temporary Horizontal Lifeline was designed to address how long it took workers to install a traditional lifeline system by making this easier to use, but without sacrificing the level of safety for workers at height,” said Gustavo Lopez, MSA Safety’s General Manager of Industrial Products & Vice President of Connected Services.
“This new system is lighter and easier to maneuver, and can be easily set up by one person, allowing the worker to spend more time on the job rather than setting up their systems.”
With locking and tensioning mechanisms on the same side, workers no longer need to travel back and forth during the set up. The new device also incorporates clear visual indicators to show when the system is properly installed. Designed to be adaptable to an ever-changing project, the flexible, lightweight cable makes installation easier, plus MSA’s patented bypass shuttles allow two users to maintain 100 percent tie-off while passing one another on the same line.
“Most horizontal lifelines on the market today are heavy, time-consuming to install, and require several tools,” Lopez said. “MSA’s new Temporary Horizontal Lifeline, however, is designed to be simple, intuitive, and faster to save companies time and money while helping to keep their workers safe.”
It is available in 60- and 100-foot lengths. To learn more about the new Temporary Horizontal Lifeline click here.
New research on tradespeople’s job satisfaction has found that Scaffolders are among the most satisfied with three in five workers (60%) saying they enjoy what they do.
The study by IronmongeryDirect for International Week of Happiness at Work (19-25th September) also found that 40% of scaffolders are proud of their work.
500 UK tradespeople took part in the survey where it also found that across all trades 58% of workers enjoy what they do. 45% were proud of their jobs, 32% are happy with their work-life balance, and 35% are satisfied with their level of income.
Millennial tradespeople are the least likely to enjoy their job the survey found, with only 43% stating that they like their work, whilst those over the age of 65 have the greatest career satisfaction (69%).
Across all trades, these are the industries with the highest levels of job satisfaction:
Dominick Sandford, Managing Director at IronmongeryDirect and ElectricalDirect, said: “It’s great to see that so many tradespeople enjoy the work they do, and feel a real sense of accomplishment for their projects.“We’ve always believed that for many tradies, their work isn’t just a job, but truly a passion and a way of life, and that was echoed by the majority of tradespeople in our study.”
After a two-year Covid enforced break,SCP and ForgeCo have held their second Scaffolders Golf Championship at the prestigious Belfry Golf and Resort raising £600 for charity.
Scaffold and Construction Products (SCP) and ForgeCo, suppliers of scaffold and construction products and components, have held its second Scaffolders Golf Championship to crown “SCP Scaffolder of the Year” Claret Jug at the prestigious Belfry Golf and Resort near Birmingham.
The popular golf event took place on the 12th September it was well attended by many from the scaffolding community. Scaffolders from all over the country had travelled miles to attend and play the testing PGA course.
After a tremendous game, Andrew Hetherington of Abbey Scaffolding was crowned 2022 Champion with an incredible score of 42 points, closely followed by Calum Baker of SWA Scaff in second place and in a very close third place was taken by Robbie Millar of Summit Marine. The ‘Longest drive’ was won with a huge hit by Paul Cross of NB Scaffolding and ‘Nearest the pin’ by Mark Harris of No 8 Scaffolding.
The golf day supported a local boy, 11-year-old Lee, who has a life-limiting illness, by raising money to help have a motor fitted to Lee’s wheelchair and with any remaining funds buy a footmuff and rain cover so he can get about no matter the weather.
SCP & ForgeCo were delighted to announce a total of £600 was raised for this deserving cause and wished Lee all the very best. They said: “Going forward we expect to see the event become the premier Golf event for the scaffolding industry and are already looking forward to a bigger and better day next year.”“As from all the management we would like to thank every player who made effort to travel distances to join this year’s event, we are very proud to be the sponsors of the UK Scaffolders Golf Championship!”
Seven runners from the TRAD Group have crossed the line to support its “£22k for 22” fundraising year.
Staff members of the Group completed yet another challenge this month, as seven members of its staff ran the Great North Run for the Anthony Nolan Trust.
The run was part of the Group’s “£22k for 22” fundraising project, which is collecting this year for the Anthony Nolan Trust – a charity chosen because of its close connection to the late John Paterson, who was one of the most popular figures across the industry.
The seven runners came from across the whole business, and all of them completed the half-marathon distance on Sunday September 11th, helping to boost the total raised this year to more than £25,000. The runners were:
Tom Moore – Estimating Manager, TRAD Co, Dartford
Josh Ansell – Senior Estimator, TRAD Co, Dartford
Darren Nelson – Scaffolder, TRAD Co, Dartford
Dale Dove – Yard Operative, TRAD UK, Leeds
Scott Baker – Driver, TRAD UK, Leeds
Stuart Collins – Sales Representative, TRAD UK, Glasgow
In addition, Amy Walls – daughter of Davy Walls, Depot Manager in Glasgow also participated in the run. Amy had been close to John Paterson and asked to run in his memory.
“We are absolutely delighted that we have already exceeded our targeted of £22,000 with three months to go,” said Des Moore, TRAD Group CEO.
“We’re very proud of all the people who trained so hard for this run, and who did John’s memory proud.” We’ll continue fundraising for the rest of this year and hope to be able to present the Anthony Nolan Trust with a significant amount of money towards the end of 2022.”
The Group’s final big event for this year’s campaign will be a Golf Day at Gleneagles, John Paterson’s home club.
You can donate to TRAD’s fundraising page here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tradgroup
Construction union Unite is warning that thousands of construction workers have been left in limbo over whether their site will be closed and if it is closed whether they will receive an additional day’s paid holiday.
Unite say that due to the failure of the employers representative’s on the Construction Industry Joint Council, many workers may be forced to work on the bank holiday for the Queen’s funeral.
The employer’s side of the CIJC, which is the largest industrial agreement in construction and underpins the working conditions of hundreds of thousands of construction workers, yesterday (Wednesday 14 September) refused to agree the trade union proposal that an additional day’s bank holiday be agreed in respect of her majesty the late Queen Elizabeth ll.
In a statement the employers said: “Taking all relevant factors that apply into account, it will be for each business/employer to determine how they will view the day, and whether time off, paid or unpaid, will be given.”
Unite has already received an email from a major joint venture company on HS2 indicating that they do not require their contractors to pay workers holiday pay on the day of the Queens funeral unless additional bank holidays, such as the Jubilee, are covered in their agreements.
The decision not to honour the bank holiday marks a significant departure for the CIJC, which primarily covers workers in civil engineering and the biblical building trades. Previously it has honoured all additional bank holidays. The CIJC has blamed a lack of warning about the date of the Queen’s funeral for its decision. As the CIJC had previously set a precedent on their approach to additional public holidays, it is hard to see how the employers’ decision can be seen as anything other than a snub to the memory of the late Queen.
The decision by the CIJC not to agree one additional day’s paid public holiday, in order to allow workers to pay their respects to the Queen, is at odds with almost all other construction industry agreements. For examples the NAECI agreement (mechanical engineering) and both parts of the Joint Industry Board agreement (electricians and plumbing) have agreed to honour the additional paid public holiday.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Following pressure from Unite, workers on major construction projects such as Hinkley Point and the Silvertown tunnel are being paid for the bank holiday for the Queen’s funeral. These employers have taken the correct decision. It is to say the least inexcusable that the CIJC has not followed suit.”
The employers’ side of the CIJC is made up of individuals chosen by various construction trade federations including Build UK, which represent major contractors, the Home Builders Federation, Painting and Decorating Association, Scottish Building Federation, National Federation of Roofing Contractors, National Access & Scaffolding Confederation and the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA).
Unite national officer for construction Jerry Swain said: “The CIJC has abdicated its responsibility and left thousands of construction workers in limbo, not knowing if they are required to work or if they will be paid.“This is a hugely disrespectful act to the Queen and the Royal Family. These CIJC employers federations have brought shame on the construction sector disrespected the Royal Family and ignored the mood of the nation.“The cost of paying a worker an additional bank holiday equates to just seven minutes pay for every year that the Queen loyally served our country, it is peanuts for these construction employers.“The construction trade federations and their members should be hanging their collective heads in shame. The federations now need to take a long hard look at who they have representing them. It is clear they need to appoint representatives who have a grasp of what is taking place rather than simply sending messengers. Who have failed the industry and the nation.”
On behalf of its members and the wider UK scaffolding industry, Lynn Way, President of the National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) has written a heartfelt letter of condolence to King Charles III.
The condolence letter comes after many scaffolding and access contractors, suppliers and manufacturers from within the industry paid tribute across social media to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Thursday 8 September at the age of 96.
As Britain’s longest-serving monarch, reigning for more than 70 years, the Queen visited hundreds of construction projects in her time as head of state.
In the letter addressed to the Private Secretary to His Majesty The King, dated 12 September 2022 Lynn Way writes: “As NASC President, I write on behalf of the members of the National Access & Scaffolding Confederation to offer our condolences following the death of your mother, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
In a lifetime of unparalleled service and devotion to duty, Her Majesty’s commitment and dedication to a vast array of charities and worthy causes was recognised by all, not just here in the UK, but on a truly global scale.”
She continued to write: “Scaffolders and all those who work at height in the construction industry, have, during their lifetimes, known no other monarch of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
I am confident that they will join me in expressing our warmest and heartfelt thanks for the truly selfless contribution. One which has ensured that Her Majesty will always be held in the very highest regard.”
She added: “Whilst writing, we would also take the opportunity to express our support for you as you commence your reign as His Majesty King Charles III. We wish you careful guidance and sound judgement as you embark on this journey.”
You can read the letter of condolence here.
For the first time ever, PERI has supplied scaffolding for the renowned outdoor music festival Boomtown.
This year’s Boomtown festival took place in Winchester, Hampshire between the 10th and 14th of August, it was the first to take place since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So event organisers were under pressure to create a striking visual atmosphere for its 75,000 visitors.
The festival this year featured eight new ‘street venues’ which required numerous theatrical structures used to support music artists and DJs and add aesthetic value to the site.
PERI worked alongside event scaffolding company Talk Media, providing scaffolding from its PERI UP range to build unique structures, mimicking buildings, castles, and post-apocalyptic debris. Several of these structures were used as stages to support artists performing at the festival.
Tara Sharp, Director of Talk Media & Event scaffolding, said: “We were asked by Boomtown Festival to construct Area 404 for this year’s Festival which was our first year in doing this. We approached PERI to assist us with this and without hesitation they responded to our request. We do a lot of events and have spoken to our customers as regards to this system all of which are keen for us to use this system in the future. We will definitely be working with PERI in the future.”
The versatility of the PERI UP system allowed for a diverse range of interesting structures to be built to match the festival’s distinctive utopian theme. The scaffolding consisted of PERI UP Flex and PERI UP Easy which were integrated to achieve a strong foundation for structures across the site.
PERI said, there were tight time constraints with this project leading up to the festival which were overcome through the ease and speed of assembly of both scaffolding products.
Some of these temporary structures were also fitted with internal PERI UP Flex access staircases as staff members and actors needed access to the top of the structures. The lightweight, yet strong PERI Flex 75 staircase was ideal for this requirement as its compact design took up minimal space inside the structures and gave performers secure access to the roof of the builds.
PERI is looking forward to working on scaffolding projects and providing access staircases for UK festivals and events in the future.
A change in direction could soon see Hannah Watt hitting the dizzy heights. The 21-year-old has swapped work in complex care nursing for a career in scaffolding.
While she is unintentionally breaking the mould when it comes to an industry traditionally perceived to be male-dominated, she is loving every minute and says she would certainly encourage more women to do the same.
Explaining her own career change, she explained: “Following the increasing demands of working in care through the covid pandemic, and at the point where I was working six or seven night shifts a week, I was ready for something different.”
Scanning potential vacancies, the apprenticeship in scaffolding was the first to stand out.
“It’s not something I had considered before, but it did appeal,” said Hannah, of Castleford.
Six months later she is working and building the skills of her trade with MJM Scaffolding Services Ltd and travelling to Stockton’s NETA Training to pick up her qualifications.
She said: “It is quite physical work, but it’s also quite a matey environment, so it doesn’t always feel like you’re at work. I did realise I would probably be working with all lads, but despite not knowing any women scaffolders or women in trades, I didn’t realise the numbers were quite so low.”
With around just a dozen female scaffolders qualified at the moment, Dave Mosely, director of CISRS, the construction industry scaffolders record scheme, said: “Hannah is joining a pretty exclusive club.”
But he added: “The numbers of new entrants, labourers and trainees are increasing, with approximately 50 at this current time. We very much look forward to welcoming more women into the sector.”
It seems employers simply want the best person for the job. John Forsyth, director of MJM Scaffolding, explained when they advertised for apprentices the post said they encouraged applications from men and women.
He said: “There were three lads that started around the same time as Hannah and there really is no difference. She wants to learn the job and is keen to work overtime.”
Having completed the first part of her scaffolding part one training, she is in the process of getting her heavy goods licence so she can drive the trucks as well.
John, who says he would certainly encourage more women to consider careers in the industry, said: “I have known of other female scaffolders but only a few. I suppose it is the stereotype for men to be in construction and particularly scaffolding.“Us scaffolders can be a bit rough and ready, so it might not be for everyone, but it’s down to the individual. Talking to other companies, they can be shocked that we have a woman on the team, as there are so few female scaffolders, but everyone thinks it’s good.“To have a female scaffolder on the team doesn’t make us better as such, but it certainly brings us into the 21st century.”
NETA’s lead scaffolder, Brian Ward, said: “It’s encouraging to see a female scaffolding apprentice among our latest cohort. After 33 years in the scaffolding industry, I can honestly say I have seen three or four other females in, what is a massively male dominated role.“This can hopefully show and convince other females to pick up the spanners and see scaffolding as a viable and achievable career. Hannah is certainly no shrinking violet and is very competent and proficient in all areas of the course, albeit classroom based or practical skills she copes with the product knowledge and physicality without issue.”
Given her own experience, Hannah said, a career in scaffolding is something more women should think about. She said: “I play rugby and regularly go to the gym and so I like the physical aspect. I wouldn’t want a job where I am sat in an office.”
As for her advice to others, she said: “It is tough on your body, but if you’ve got a head for heights and don’t mind getting dirty and sweaty, and looking a bit rough, I would absolutely say, give it a shot!”
Scaffmag is deeply saddened by the news of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
For more than seventy years she dedicated her life to public service with dignity and devotion and inspired billions of people around the world.
We join our home the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations in sending our deepest condolences to the Royal Family.
GOD SAVE THE KING!
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Also new for this year is the Big Brew tea scale (an image of different strengths of cups of tea), which will act as an icebreaker to start conversations where tradespeople can ask one another where they rank on the scale.
The Big Brew – which is sponsored by Big Red Construction – is an initiative by national construction charity Band of Builders, a registered charity that helps members of the UK construction industry who are battling illness or injury through the completion of practical projects carried out by volunteer tradespeople using donated materials. The event aims to build on last year’s inaugural event, which saw more than 175 events held and raised enough money to fund a new free construction industry-only counselling service for two years.
Events are being held in October to coincide with World Mental Health Day, and the Big Brew organisers point to shocking figures that highlight the scale of the mental health crisis in construction.
Shocking figures
Dominick Sandford, Managing Director at IronmongeryDirect and ElectricalDirect, said: “It’s great to see that so many tradespeople enjoy the work they do, and feel a real sense of accomplishment for their projects.
“We’ve always believed that for many tradies, their work isn’t just a job, but truly a passion and a way of life, and that was echoed by the majority of tradespeople in our study.”
PERI said, there were tight time constraints with this project leading up to the festival which were overcome through the ease and speed of assembly of both scaffolding products.
Some of these temporary structures were also fitted with internal PERI UP Flex access staircases as staff members and actors needed access to the top of the structures. The lightweight, yet strong 
