Building companies are obliged to give their staff standard health and safety training, but the Miller Group, has gone a step further and built a hands-on site to make strong men blanch, reports Joan Grady

THERE is a training site in Glasgow where the trainees must climb scaffolding which has been deliberately constructed to be as dangerous as possible. It is part of a bold programme of practical, hands-on training developed by one of Scotland's leading construction firms to complement existing theory-based safety-awareness training.

Construction companies are legally obliged to provide their staff with standard health and safety training. The Miller Group, however, has gone a little further and constructed a training site little short of a builder's worst nightmare.

Based near Coatbridge in the West of Scotland, the dedicated four-acre site is a first for Scotland - although Miller has a similar site already in existence in Rugby.

At any one time, up to 15 Miller employees from Scotland and the North of England can spend between one and five days on the site at Coatbridge, improving their safety awareness in scaffold construction, crane co-ordination and working in confined spaces .

For the sake of their ultimate safety, employees are encouraged to climb and examine badly-constructed scaffolding to learn about how not to put it together, and are asked to wear breathing apparatus and shut themselves in a pitch-black, smoke-filled tunnel. It sounds terrifying but it is a realistic, practical experience which gives some idea of what to expect in a genuine emergency.

``We developed this training site roughly four months ago,'' says Miller Group chief safety adviser Bob Cole. ``We realised our employees In Scotland and the North of England did not have the same safety training facilities as those based in the South.

``The new base in Coatbridge complements the existing centre in Rugby, allowing Miller to increase its training capacity throughout the UK. We do have a training facility already in existence in Edinburgh, but we did not have a centre where we could conduct hands-on, `dirty boots' training.

``We now have the same facilities north and south of the Border - two management training lecture rooms and two `dirty boots' centres where staff get hands-on safety-awareness training.''

As well as learning about scaffold construction, crane control and coping in confined spaces, Miller employees are trained in how to handle vehicles with abrasive wheels and safety-awareness construction design. They are taken through every possible aspect of safety awareness in construction work, from designing the site to putting it together to taking it down again. While the training centre is purely for the use of Miller employees at the moment, Bob says representatives from other companies may sometimes participate in training.

``We will not actively be seeking external trainees, but if we intend to run a course and places are available we can offer them externally,'' he says. ``As a good contractor we want to set ourselves up to be able to provide the best possible training. We would use an outside body to do so if we did not have our own centre.

``A standard training course may not be totally applicable to us. Having a base of our own means we can create courses to suit our own needs.''

Training is delivered by members of the group's safety department. They are all qualified safety advisers and all have done technical construction courses. A typical day will be split between classroom-based theory training and hands-on training on the site. All trainees are closely supervised during hands-on training - and the results are already apparent. ``Safety is a very important issue for us,'' says Bob. ``It is supported throughout the company - the chief executive, Keith Miller, is the director responsible to the board for safety. Our record compares very favourably with other major building contractors, and our accident rate is reducing.''

The Miller Group Safety department has eight safety advisers. Each individual division of the group also has a safety director and they all meet regularly to co-ordinate the training delivery. Most are also members of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

Company trainees receive an internal certificate of safety awareness, and feedback after the training sessions has been very positive.

``The training we provide is appreciated by all our staff,'' says Bob. ``Management get the knowledge to run sites safely and employees are better able to ensure their own safety. It shows Miller is willing to give something back to its staff. It is nothing less than an investment in our people. We believe training is the way forward to reducing accident rates.

``Excellent standard training is already widely available within the industry - but to go a step further our employees need to see that training in action.''