Beyond compliance: building healthier programmes through data, culture and climate

As we look ahead to the future of our sector, our approach to health, safety and wellbeing must go further than meeting requirements. It must be a cultural imperative. Good systems and technology support us, but people keep people safe. It is our judgement, our conversations and our confidence to speak up that prevent harm. This responsibility is shared across our industry and an opportunity to work together, learn together and protect one another together.  

Last year our teams delivered more than 2,500 audits, 57,000 inspections, 154,000 observations and 54,000 actions. These numbers show attention at every level. They demonstrate that we are engaging early, reviewing properly and learning fast. This is what forecasting safety looks like in practice. 

1. Putting people at the centre 

This year we are placing even greater emphasis on behaviour. Curiosity remains one of the most powerful tools we have. When something does not look right, we want teams to pause, check, ask questions and understand the full picture before work begins. 

Embedded in our ethos are our “Four steps to going home safe and well”, a clear checklist guiding teams to confirm their behaviours, systems, workplace and equipment are safe. Our “Observe. Engage. Improve.” approach strengthens these moments and supports a more robust safety climate.  

Across the business we are seeing positive shifts. Directors are engaging more consistently on sites and lessons learned calls are happening across multiple project teams. We are maintaining a clear focus on occupational health, including dust, health surveillance and COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health). Whilst daily and nightly briefings are standard practice with attendance from all levels of the project, we are seeing greater input and collaboration as we continue progressing towards digital delivery. 

2. Using data to look forward, not only back 

Compared with last year, occupational health inspections rose by 275%, safety observations by 11%, safety audits by 2% and safety inspections by 34%. These trends give us a clearer view of how behaviours are shifting and where support is working. Traditionally we have relied on lagging indicators such as incident rates, near misses and recorded injuries to understand performance. These remain essential, but they only reflect what has already happened. 

Our focus now is to strengthen the use of leading indicators that help us anticipate change rather than react to it. As we look to expand the use of riskHive across the business and introduce it earlier at the Pre-Construction (PCSA) stage, we can build a clearer picture of emerging patterns and potential risks before work begins on site. 

This approach reduces manual reporting at project level and directs attention to where it is most needed. 

riskHive will not replace the judgement of our people, but it will enhance it. When digital insight and experience work together, we make better decisions and build programmes that are more predictable and safer. 

3. Shifting our focus: leadership and culture 

For too long, our industry's approach to safety has been fear of negative outcomes, rather than consolidating positive behaviours. Fear does not create safer projects. Focus does. In 2026, we want people to feel supported to speak up early and for leaders to reinforce the positive behaviours that keep teams safe and help mitigate risks before they grow. 

Our focus now is on strengthening leadership visibility, building trust and creating an environment where positive behaviours are recognised and repeated. This cultural shift underpins everything else in this strategy and is how we will continue to improve safety and wellbeing across our projects. 

4. Working together to address our most serious risks  

Collaboratively with our industry peers, through our work with the Tier 1 Health and Safety Leadership Group (HSLG), we recognise that some risks cannot be solved by one organisation alone. Through a collective approach, we can tackle the most serious safety challenges in our industry. As the HSLG feeds into the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), which brings together key industry leaders to drive improvements in health, safety and wellbeing across the sector, this work strengthens our shared direction. We are developing clear hierarchies of control that help prevent incidents with life changing consequences. Together we are focusing on four fatal risk groups; lifting operations, people and plant interface, working at height and electrical safety. 

Beyond this, there is a wider conversation about mental health. It requires shared understanding, consistent standards and open dialogue so people feel able to ask for help when they need it. Improving understanding to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health in the workplace, particularly in construction, we are strengthening how we support people across our sites. Alongside our own initiatives, this reinforces that health and safety are two sides of the same coin.  

Forecasting safety is not about adding more process. It is about understanding the climate of our projects, using data wisely, planning properly and empowering people to take ownership. 

My ambition is simple. I want every colleague across our industry to go home safe and well every day. By strengthening our culture, building confidence and using the insight we now have across our projects, we will create an environment where wellbeing, productivity and safety reinforce each other.