More contractors are being urged to report incidents in order for others to learn from them.

Bill Hewlett, Technical Director at Costain, has been appointed as Chairman of the Standing Committee on Structural Safety (SCOSS) and he delivered the message of encouraging more incident reporting.

An independent body, SCOSS is supported by the Health & Safety Executive, the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Structural Engineers (IstructE).

Its aim is to encourage the highest standards of structural safety by sharing stories of near misses and safety failures.

The presidents of both IstructE and ICE appoint the chairman and have now selected Mr Hewlett to take up the post, who will now be involved in the Confidential Reporting on Structural Safety (CROSS) scheme.

Mr Hewlett said that both CROSS and SCOSS provide an invaluable and unique service, and that it will be crucial for CROSS and SCOSS to be in the full breadth of structural engineering, including infrastructure, nuclear and petro-chem as well as all types of buildings.

He is aiming to expand the organisation’s reach in order to encourage more contractors to report their near misses and incidents.

He added that he will be particularly looking for more engagement with the contracting sector of the industry, especially small and medium sized enterprises, while also examining their global outreach.

Mr Hewlett also said that he is encouraging everyone from all sectors of the industry to play their part in the scheme by reporting their own structural safety experiences as well as signing up for their newsletters.

He concluded by stating the vital importance of understanding risks and hazards in ensuring structural safety and that this was the best way to learn about them.

Contractors who report via the CROSS scheme will do so confidentially and will help to bring about beneficial changes for the industry, more information can be found at the Structural Safety website.