The series features Coordinators from many of CIB’s Working Commissions, and Fred Sherratt and Billy Hare will host this seminar.

An Overview and Insights into W099 – the CIB Working Commission for the Safety, Health and Wellbeing of Construction Workers

Abstract

Professor Billy Hare and Dr Fred Sherratt provide an overview and insights into W099 – the CIB Working Commission for the Safety, Health and Wellbeing of construction workers. This seminar will unpack both the history and latest research of W099, providing attendees with a ‘construction SHW update’, sharing some of the prizewinning research from the W099 community and looking ahead to the future of this vital research space.

Biographies

Fred has over ten years’ experience working on construction sites for a large main contractor in the UK, as well as over ten years’ experience as an academic, working in UK universities. She is a Chartered Builder, a Chartered Building Engineer and an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Her previous academic position in the UK was Professor of Construction Sociology, and she is now an Associate Director of Research at the Construction Safety Research Alliance at the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA.

Fred’s research has always prioritized construction workers with a focus on their occupational safety, health and wellbeing. Having seen the consequences of poor OSHW in practice first hand, she endeavors to undertake impactful and most importantly useful research - able to support and help develop industry improvements that bring positive changes to practice. Fred is currently International Joint Coordinator of the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction’s Working Group (W099) for research of construction industry safety, health and wellbeing, and regularly publishes and presents her work to both industry and academic audiences across the world.

Billy is a Professor of Construction Management within the School of Computing Engineering & Built Environment at Glasgow Caledonian University in the UK. He is Deputy Director of the School’s Research Centre for ‘Built Environment & Asset Management’ (BEAM) and former chair of the School Ethics Committee. Billy has a PhD in Construction H&S Management; BSc (Hons) in Construction Management and a BA in Occupational Health and Safety. He joined GCU in 2002, after a career in construction contracting. Since then, he has delivered research on several HSE, IOSH, EPSRC, CITB and industry funded projects totalling over £1m, 50+ peer-reviewed publications and Impact Case Studies for the UK Research Excellence Framework.

His research portfolio is focused on improving safety, health and wellbeing within the construction industry, including studies that have improved worker engagement, migrant worker H&S, and safety in design. These contribute directly to UN Sustainable Development Goals for ‘Good Health and Wellbeing’, and ‘Decent Work’. Billy is currently International Joint Coordinator of the ‘International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction’ Safety Health and Wellbeing Working Group, and chair of several other industry working groups. His expert commentary is often sought by the media, and he was appointed as ‘Senior Advisor – Buildings and Construction’ for the Independent Review of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Infections of 2018/19. He has recently established a database for analyzing suicide rates among construction occupations, and is leading the ‘Measuring Wellbeing’ group for the UK Make-It-Visible initiative.

CIB President's series - Fred Sherratt and Billy Hare