When it comes to safe industry practices Sean Downey, CIF Director for Health & Safety, Education, Training & Skills, has sights set on the entire supply chain
In 2025, the construction industry faces a crucial challenge: how to make safety culture truly authentic and inclusive across the sector. For this year’s safety campaign, the focus is on going back to basics, prioritising leadership engagement, practical action, and a holistic approach to safety and wellbeing.
This is an urgent issue, as of 2025, fatalities in construction already surpass last year’s total, often due to falls from height or accidents involving plant and machinery.
A major theme emerging from conversations with industry leaders is the need for 360-degree feedback on the authenticity of a company’s safety culture. This involves anonymous surveys that allow employees to assess whether the safety policies they are told about actually translate into on-the-ground practices.
This is crucial to ensure that what is written in corporate safety manuals is genuinely felt and followed at every level, especially on site. The campaign also emphasises the importance of involving the entire supply chain, right down to smaller subcontractors in rural and regional areas.
Sean Downey, CIF Director for Health & Safety, Education, Training & Skills
These contractors are often overlooked, but they play a significant role in shaping safety culture, especially when they bring lessons from larger projects headed by large firms out to the wider industry.
Subcontractors working on large housing projects, like carpenters and joiners, are often introduced to a strong safety culture. Even if they later move on to smaller jobs at different sites, they’re likely to carry that safety mindset with them.
It’s a form of cultural diffusion, where the positive safety practices learned on bigger projects are passed on, helping to improve safety across the industry at every scale. Another important pillar of focus this year is the debate over safety versus health.
While many companies have made strides in safety protocols, health and wellbeing, especially mental and physical health, remain areas of concern. Campaigns focusing on men’s and women’s health in the workplace aim to support employees in staying fit, not just for work but for their lives outside of it as well.
This ambitious campaign wouldn’t be possible without the support of the key sponsors of this year’s Construction Safety Campaign. Their collaboration ensures that these messages will continue to resonate, not just for a few weeks, but over the next year, helping the industry move toward a safer, more inclusive future.
