— News — A safety lesson for local schoolkids

Cities everywhere are undergoing transformation and the number of worksites is increasing almost daily. Poland is no exception. Activities around construction sites or rehabilitation of facilities that are in use are a common occurrence, impacting the daily life of locals. Besides information campaigns and receiving the public on-site during work, the sense of proximity with residents has become a central element in the approach to planning work. As such, Soletanche Polska recently staged educational actions with locals specifically aimed at schoolchildren.

This was the case for the construction of an office building in Okęcie (district), Warsaw, where the Polish subsidiary is working for general contractor SPS Construction, and where the entrance to the site happens to be opposite a school. Diggers, cranes and bulldozers can all exert a certain fascination over young children, but the worksite environment represents an almost-permanent danger. What’s more, road traffic around the site has increased, raising the risk of accidents involving children.

In partnership with the client, Soletanche Polska organised a series of safety lessons for the schoolkids. The teams felt the need to take preventive action and come and explain to the children the fundamentals of safety, both on-site and in the immediate surroundings.

The safety lesson was divided into two parts:

• What does the word “safety” mean? What goes on in the neighbouring site? What behaviour do you need to adopt to avoid putting yourself in danger or getting injured when construction work is going on near your school? These were the questions the team dealt with during the theoretical stage, run as an informal discussion with the pupils on safety and the rules to follow when work is going on.
• A second practical session saw the kids get something close to an on-site experience with the works team. During the site visit, engineers answered the children’s questions and demonstrated the requisite safety equipment, daily work on site, and the risks involved.