A view from the water industry

The author outlines how, in managing safety within a major water utility, creates challenges which are considerable due to the size and nature of the business, the itinerant hazards involved in some of the activities and the itinerant nature of the work undertaken. In addition, since privatisation of the UK industry in 1989, there has been a substantial increase in the level of capital expenditure to meet requirements of increased demand for water and to raise the standards of water quality and effluent treatment to the extremely high levels required by European legislation. The importance of managing the safety of major construction projects and ensuring the adequacy of design safety issues is self-evident