NEWS
Top construction CEOs join industry-wide initiative to combat suicide among workers in construction
C hief executives from Bechtel , Fluor , Turner Construction Company , North America ’ s Building Trades Unions , Kiewit , Clark Construction , DPR Construction , Skanska and Stanley Black & Decker , which includes DEWALT in its portfolio of brands , have joined together as founding members of a new CEO Advisory Council . This council will guide an industrywide effort to develop solutions targeting the high rate of suicide among construction workers .
Leaders participating on the council will bring vital expertise and support to an initiative launched earlier this year by Bechtel . Backed by the largest financial pledge in history to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention ( AFSP ), the initiative aims to develop new research-based programmes and resources specifically tailored to the construction industry . To start , the effort , led by a newly established Construction Initiatives team within AFSP , seeks to reach 500,000 US construction workers over the next five years through industry-specific programmes and resources aiming to increase awareness of mental health aid and suicide prevention .
Today , the establishment of the CEO Advisory Council signifies a strong commitment to bringing stakeholders together and maximising the collective efforts of its members .
Brendan Bechtel , Bechtel Chairman and CEO , said : “ Just like with worksite safety , nothing is proprietary when it comes to saving lives . My fellow industry leaders share this belief and by joining this council , they ’ ve shown that they are committed to working together to find solutions . I ’ m deeply grateful for their participation as founding partners . The more we can engage a broad group of leaders and collaborate on solutions , the more effective we will be in providing our people the support they need . We owe it to them , to our colleagues , and to their families to find solutions and prevent these tragedies .”
Skanska receives Innovate UK funding to accelerate decarbonisation of concrete
A long with six other companies our Skanska Costain STRABAG joint Venture ( SCS JV ) working on HS2 London Tunnels has successfully won funding from Innovate UK , to help accelerate the decarbonisation of the UK concrete industry .
The funding will be used by the SCS JV team to continue developing a replacement for carbon intensive Portland Cement with repurposed London Clay .
The team is working together with customer HS2 , technical lead Arup , concrete supplier Tarmac , the University of Leeds and Sika UK along with Expedition Engineering and the Mineral Product Association ( MPA ). By calcinating ( heating to activate ) London Clay that is excavated from the tunnel activities the team is using it as a replacement for Portland Cement in concrete for the HS2 permanent works .
Portland Cement manufacturing requires large amounts of energy and emits high levels of CO 2 . Data from the original trial ( REAL Initiative ), funded by HS2 , has shown that calcined London Clay excavated from tunnels and other construction activities could be a viable alternative to cement in concrete .
Results from the preliminary trial were very promising – along with considerable carbon reduction figures , tens of millions of pounds could potentially be saved on a project similar in size to HS2 . However , more data and research is needed . The funding will help the team scale up production and take the trial to the next level .
Apostolos Tsoumelekas , Materials Engineering Manager who has been heavily involved in developing the product , said : “ The clay that is excavated from the HS2 tunnels is essentially a waste product . We have developed a process which calcines the clay and grinds it to a powder transforming it into a useful resource which can then be added to concrete replacing Portland cement . The results have been impressive and hopefully if it ’ s scaled up it could really help speed up the adoption of low-carbon concrete for commercial use .”
10 www . intelligentbuild . tech