The atmosphere is a mixture of anticipation and palpable tension. As the slight man and the front opens his presentation to the roomful of wary Rok site operatives with a few dull slides, the mood sours even further. Someone near the front throws in an aggressive heckle, demanding to know if the speaker has actually set foot on a building site, before standing up and marching out, slamming the door behind him.

There is absolute silence from the delegates. Some are embarrassed or a little shocked, while a few are clearly considering following the rebels lead. The speakers knowing smile suggests all is not what it seems, however, and he asks the room to welcome back the actor who so convincingly played the part of the disgruntled labourer Boz, a character everyone in the room will get to know well over the course of the day.

This unorthodox opening to a Rok’s health and safety workshop in Liverpool sets the tone for the rest of the day. The slides having served their dramatic purpose, are put aside, and lead facilitator Dave Hill introduces himself and the rest of his team from learning organisation CragRats.

With the opening effect having had the desired affect of getting everyone a little more relaxed, we are asked to wander around and speak to someone we have not met before. After some initial awkwardness anecdotes are soon being traded enthusiastically.

Rok health and safety management Dave Thompson looks visibly relieved. He admits it is challenging selling this type of training to site operatives. “They are less used to a seminar format, but once they get used to the novel approach they usually enjoy themselves.” He says.

Practical element 
“The usual ‘chalk and talk’ approach is about ‘you must, you will’, which doesn’t engage people. They feel their employer is doing this to cover it’s own back. This approach reinforces the idea that it’s up to you to avoid injury and brings a real practical element to health and safety.

The workshops ,which have also so far been held in Chester, Liverpool and Glasgow, were the brainchild of Thompson, who had worked with CragRats in a previous job and was keen to bring their vibrant approach to Rok. He and Rob Bath. Rok’s area director for the North West , worked with the actors to ensure the discussion and topics they discussed were authentic.
“I visited sites to ensure I understood what the issues were” says Bath.  “Everyone’s has a basic desire not to hurt themselves of course, but this shows the passion of proper teamwork.

There is buy in from everyone from me to the secretarial staff- you can’t have safety unless everyone is involved. Accident rates impact, quite rightly, on building success, so there’s a real commercial incentive to ensure your staff are safe.”

Bath seems quite moved by the success of the scheme. “The first seminars, held in Manchester, were the most powerful three days of my career” he says “I have never seen so many people buy into something.”

Local approach
Rok’s motto is “the nations local builder”, and Bath stresses that this approach has been vital to the schemes success. “ We are a national rather than a regional contractor, but we take a local approach rather than a corporate one.”

The teams careful research was vital if the workshop was to ring true with it’s expect audience. Back at Liverpool workshop, next on the agenda is the first of the days performance from the CragRats team. We meet the key characters- harassed site manager Davies, who feels she doesn’t have the respect of her workers. Cynical H&S officer Brown, who is willing to turn a blind eye to blunders as long as the paper work is done. Unofficial foreman Boz, who feels he hasn’t got enough time to get his job done and get his performance bonus, let alone make his H&S his priority. Last up is new apprentice Twinkle, a naïve young man who knows what he should be doing but is always overruled by Boz, who has taken him under his wing.

The opening sketch prompts plenty of discussion among the audience about lack of leadership and passing the buck. Many recognise both the situation and the types of people been portrayed. One female site manager particularly identifies with the character of Davies. “They’ve done their research pretty well” she says wryly. “These relationships seem pretty realistic”. A male site operative agrees. “ She’ portrayed very well”. He says, “Having been a site manager myself, I know the pressure you are under. It’s very difficult to gain and keep the respect of your labourers”
Further sketches are prepared throughout the day, moving the story of negligence and well-meaning incompetence to a gritty conclusion which while not unexpected, is surprisingly shocking. The tone is neither overly serious nor preachy, with a healthy dose of humour to leaven the key message of taking personal responsibility for your own health and safety and that of those around you.

The play is the only passive part of the workshop. The rest of the time the audience are encouraged to interact as much as possible with regular group reshufflings and a variety of exercises. Later in the day a paper-folding exercise sparks fierce, if good-natured competition.

The four actors spend 10 minuets with each group, answering their questions which become increasingly challenging as their confidence grows.
A few people remain silent all day, but most seemed to enjoy the novelty of being able to quiz the boss’. CragRats’ Hill is pleased with the response, and generally radiates such optimism that some inevitably rubs off on the audience.

“Construction is a harder market than others perhaps, as people are less used to the format, but we are not here to show them up or prove them wrong” he says “ It’s all about communication rather than drilling in stats, finding out what you as an individual and as a team can do to change. It gives people the opportunity to get their views across to senior management, and for management to hear them.”

For the next sketch the audience is split into four groups, taking it in turns to direct the behaviour of each character. One delegate finds this exercise particularly rewarding. “We had to put ourselves in the position of people whose point of view we didn’t necessarily agree with, and it showed we shouldn’t have listened more.” He says “ That was a great point they made there. We all told the characters what to do without discussing how the situation might be changed and improved.”

Positive Impact       
The reaction from most of the audience is positive. On sub- contractor H&S manager is keen to adopt the method for her own worksfoce. “Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves and getting something out of it. “ she says “ It’s much better than slide and someone talking at you, that’s deadly”

Others worry that the event is a one-off novelty. “H&S is so important and this Is an unusual way of approaching the topic, but I wonder how it will be followed up” says one labourer. “ This is a pretty memorable day, but the message needs to be reinforced , perhaps with on-site sessions.”
Bath conceded that follow up plans have not been finalised. “We haven’t really considered how to update and refresh the message” he says.
Thompson is keen to undertake spot checks. “Many of our people work on their own or in pairs in people’s houses. It’s a dangerous environment, so it’s vital that they are following guidelines.” He says. “ Senior management need to visit sites without warning, where everything should be running smoothly. Why should everything be done better just because I’m standing there with a clipboard? People must be self- policing.”

Site Visits
Hill backs this approach “Such visits can also be a way of celebrating what people are doing well.” He says “These visits send two messages- that we are keeping track of you, but also that we are interested in you and your safety.”

One of the Thompson’s aims for the workshops is to communicate Rok’s 2006 safety strategy.  A list of 2005 problems and 2006’s planned solutions is handed to each delegate and they are asked to come up with ways they can help achieve them. “ We want them to go on a bit of a journey on this course, to the point where they are able to talk about how to improve” says Hill.

“Things weren’t perfect in 2005.” Admits Thompson. “Safety culture was not always seen as being important as profit, when it must be. Teams weren’t necessarily known by their area leaders, PPE (personal protection equipment) wasn’t always worn, inductions weren’t always done- there was plenty of room for improvement.”

One of the Thompson’s particular bugbears is inconsistent training. “We want to make it consistent across our geographical spread.”  He says “The CragRats scheme hasn’t made it down to south yet but I am very confident it will eventually reach every team in the company. I see it as the fastest and most effective way of making this happen. An hour in the morning over a bacon butty can’t compare.”

He is also keen to see the approach spread to other contractors. “I’m not at all protective of it. You have to share when it comes to the best ways of approaching H&S. I believe this is it.”