Health and Safety Improvements

The H&S Improvements function collates and analyses H&S Performance Indicators (HSPI) and develops corresponding improvement initiatives for implementation across the project. This includes responding to incidents on the project, establishing expected performance criteria, conducting Gateway Assessments of Principal Contractors and organising pro-active H&S initiatives.

All of the above aim to ensure that Crossrail’s Target Zero strategy is realised and that the safety culture of the organisation is continuously improving.

The Health and Safety Improvement learning legacy seeks to share good practice lessons and lessons learned on the above. This includes a series of H&S Alerts and Good Practice Bulletins which have been produced throughout the programme. These are shared as part of the learning legacy as the issues/ incidents/ good practice are relevant to projects and companies of all sizes.

A series of Best Practice Guides has been produced in collaboration with Crossrail’s contractors and other industry specialist bodies. These were produced in response to specific project activities and were aimed at raising health and safety standards through the  sharing of knowledge and experience of the companies working on the programme.  These guides are shared on the learning legacy for use by other projects.

One of the H&S Engagement initiatives that has proved very successful on the Crossrail programme in ongoing improvement of H&S standards is the Stepping Up Week programme. This is a bi-annual week-long event held across all 40 or so Crossrail sites focusing on Health and Safety activities. Lessons learned and associated collateral used in each of the events are shared for use by future projects or companies considering implementing this type of initiative.

A learning legacy paper has been written to review HSPI, Crossrail’s leading indicator measurement programme and how it has influenced proactive behaviour, what worked well and where changes were required.

To drive further improvement in health and safety a specific course to provide behaviour based training was developed.

Crossrail created a series of Impact Videos designed to encourage a focus on some of the health impacts and safety risks that construction workers face. The videos are available to be viewed from the archive here.

H&S Improvements Documents:

Summary Publication date Document Type
Good Practice Bulletins

Good Practice Bulletins

Topic area: Health and Safety improvements

These Good Practice Bulletins were issued across the programme in support of continuous improvement, providing examples of innovation and good practice from Crossrail’s contractors, allowing others to benefit and utilise the ideas themselves. This selection of Good Practice Bulletins have been shared as many are...

27/09/2016 Good Practice Document
Health and Safety Performance Index (HSPI )

Health and Safety Performance Index (HSPI )

Topic area: Health and Safety improvements

The Health and Safety Performance Index (HSPI) is Crossrail’s leading indicator measurement programme, focussed on Crossrail’s 6 Target Zero Pillars, which are considered the foundation for good health and safety management.  These are; Leadership & Behaviour; Design for H&S; Communications; Workplace Heal...

27/09/2016 Case Study
Lifting Operations

Lifting Operations

Topic area: Health and Safety improvements

Best Practice Guides were produced in collaboration with Crossrail’s Tier 1 contractors and other industry specialist bodies. Guides were produced in response to specific project activities and were aimed at raising Health and Safety standards through the sharing of knowledge and experience of the companies working o...

27/09/2016 Good Practice Document
Behaviour Influences Behaviour

Behaviour Influences Behaviour

Topic area: Health and Safety improvements

This document outlines Crossrail’s approach to Client-side, behavioural based training. This was developed to; Raise awareness of the importance of leadership behaviours & how it influences others behaviour. Enable leaders to understand their own behavioural strengths and weaknesses. Further embed Target Zero to...

27/09/2016 Micro-report
Pressure Systems

Pressure Systems

Topic area: Health and Safety improvements

Best Practice Guides were produced in collaboration with Crossrail’s Tier 1 contractors and other industry specialist bodies. Guides were produced in response to specific project activities and were aimed at raising health and Safety standards through the sharing of knowledge and experience of the companies working o...

26/02/2016 Good Practice Document
Best Practice Guides

Best Practice Guides

Topic area: Health and Safety improvements

Crossrail is committed to sharing best practices, not just with contractors working on the project, but also with the wider construction industry, leaving a lasting legacy.

26/02/2016 Good Practice Document
Stepping Up Week

Stepping Up Week

Topic area: Health and Safety improvements

Stepping Up Week is a health and safety engagement initiative held twice per year across all contracts and sites on Crossrail. It forms part of Crossrail’s Target Zero strategy and has been successful in continuous improvement of health and safety.  This learning legacy page outlines the process of implementing the ...

26/02/2016 Micro-report
Health and Safety Alerts

Health and Safety Alerts

Topic area: Health and Safety improvements

A collection of single page Health and Safety Alerts. These are issued across the programme when there is a specific safety issue/incident which, without action being taken, could result in a serious or fatal injury. Health and Safety Alerts can be issued on topics related to dangerous equipment, processes, procedures ...

26/02/2016 Good Practice Document
Construction Railways Operations

Construction Railways Operations

Topic area: Health and Safety improvements

Best Practice Guides were produced in collaboration with Crossrail’s Tier 1 contractors and other industry specialist bodies. Guides were produced in response to specific project activities and were aimed at raising Health and Safety standards through the sharing of knowledge and experience of the companies working o...

26/02/2016 Good Practice Document
Construction Site – Fire Safety

Construction Site – Fire Safety

Topic area: Health and Safety improvements

Best Practice Guides were produced in collaboration with Crossrail’s Tier 1 contractors and other industry specialist bodies e.g. the Fire Protection Association. Guides were produced in response to specific project activities and were aimed at raising Health and Safety standards through the  sharing of knowledge an...

26/02/2016 Good Practice Document
Sprayed Concrete Lining Exclusion Zone Management

Sprayed Concrete Lining Exclusion Zone Management

Topic area: Health and Safety improvements

Best Practice Guides were produced in collaboration with Crossrail’s Tier 1 contractors and other industry specialist bodies e.g. the Fire Protection Association. Guides were produced in response to specific project activities and were aimed at raising health and Safety standards through the sharing of knowledge and ...

26/02/2016 Good Practice Document
Overview of Target Zero

Overview of Target Zero

Topic area: Health and Safety improvements

Crossrail’s overarching health and safety philosophy is captured in Target Zero which seeks to embed health and safety culture into all aspects of the project, built upon a firm foundation of robust standards and guidelines. This learning legacy page sets out the Target Zero principles, the 5 Golden Rules and the...

26/02/2016 Micro-report
Cover of Healthy by Design document

Healthy By Design

Topic area: Health and Safety improvements

This guide was developed to aid healthy design choices enabling designers to meet legal responsibilities, work in accordance with Crossrail policies and ethical codes of conduct as required by bodies such as RIBA, ICE, etc. The guide aims to be a practical tool as well as providing detailed background information. It a...

26/02/2016 Good Practice Document
Fire Alerts

Fire Alerts

Topic area: Health and Safety Assurance

The learning from this partnership has been used by Crossrail and the LFB to produce fire safety guidance bulletins for contractors, and publications free of charge for the wider construction sector to inform fire safety standards around the world. Below are a selection of Health and Safety Alerts that were developed s...

14/03/2017 Good Practice Document
Health and Safety Impact Video – Jenny’s Story

Health and Safety Impact Video – Jenny’s Story

Topic area: Health and Safety Impact Videos

This film highlights the fact that the unseen health impact of day to day dust exposure can, in the long run, be much more serious and debilitating than the more obvious health and safety failures. It explores how easy it is to dismiss them at the time and how, by the time the impact is felt it’s too late to do anyth...

14/10/2016 Video
Health and Safety Impact Video – Gary’s Story

Health and Safety Impact Video – Gary’s Story

Topic area: Health and Safety Impact Videos

Mental health is an area that has significant stigma associated with it. One in four people suffer with mental health issues in any given year and the suicide rate in the construction industry greatly exceeds that in wider society. The film illustrates how people you see every day can be suffering in silence, how it’...

14/10/2016 Video
Health and Safety Impact Video – John’s Story

Health and Safety Impact Video – John’s Story

Topic area: Health and Safety Impact Videos

The film uses the term ‘experience may tell you’ to illustrate how easy it is to convince yourself that small breaches of rules won’t lead to you being injured. In the film, you can see two individuals, doing things wrong and each time, they are put right without anyone being harmed. However, John is not so lucky...

14/10/2016 Video
Health and Safety Impact Video – Barry’s Story

Health and Safety Impact Video – Barry’s Story

Topic area: Health and Safety Impact Videos

The premise of this film is that you are responsible for your own health and safety. If you take dangerous short cuts, you may as well be hurting yourself. Barry is in the end pushing himself off the platform by his own actions. The short film is shown below and is accompanied by discussion notes that will help the vie...

14/10/2016 Video
Health and Safety Impact Video – Zoey’s Story

Health and Safety Impact Video – Zoey’s Story

Topic area: Health and Safety Impact Videos

The focus of this film is the importance of following permit systems and relying on competent people, especially when working with electrical systems. In his desire to be helpful and show initiative, the new starter (Peter) decides that, rather than waiting for Colin in the plant room to put in place the correct isolat...

14/10/2016 Video
Health and Safety Impact Video – Steve’s Story

Health and Safety Impact Video – Steve’s Story

Topic area: Health and Safety Impact Videos

Hot works are well understood as a risk and are normally controlled with a permit process. In this film, a number of unconnected failures occur simultaneously, resulting in rapid escalation and fatal consequences. One of those failures related to something as simple as keeping the working area clean and tidy. If it h...

14/10/2016 Video
Stepping Up Week Mental Health

Stepping Up Week Mental Health

Topic area: Occupational Health and Wellbeing

‘Stepping Up Week’ provides a combined focus and commitment to health and safety and positively influences health and safety culture and worker engagement. It helps to embed the Target Zero philosophy.  Each live site across the programme devises their own bespoke schedules of engagement events aimed at promoting ...

13/10/2016 Micro-report
Sprayed Concrete Lining Falls and Exclusion Zone Management

Sprayed Concrete Lining Falls and Exclusion Zone Management

Topic area: Civil Engineering

Falling ground or immature concrete within sprayed concrete lined tunnels is a major safety risk to personnel, which has complex inter-relationships of design, workmanship, plant and materials contributing to any single event. With experience of over 12km of SCL tunnelling on Crossrail in London, this paper describes t...

31/08/2016 Technical Paper
Health and Safety Standard

Health and Safety Standard

Topic area: Health and Safety Management System

A Crossrail Health and Safety Charter was developed alongside industry partners and stakeholders to set out Crossrail’s expected standards for health and safety. This includes an Agreement which set out a number of key leadership behaviours and values, which underpinned Crossrail’s shared determination to d...

26/02/2016 Good Practice Document