The limits of influence. The role of supply chains in influencing health and safety management in two sectors

Posted on: 16 October 2012
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This report presents findings on factors that positively influence the way health and safety is managed by suppliers in the construction and merchant shipping sectors. The research used two construction case studies to explore what positive effects their supply chains had on health and safety management. The study found that they were influenced by the demands of their clients to ensure good health and safety practice among their own contractors and subcontractors. However, in other chains where high standards from the top aren’t dictated throughout. The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health is urging construction businesses not to cut corners on health and safety at the expense of worker safety.

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Housing and Health Conference. Warrington, 5 October 2012

Posted on: 15 October 2012
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Housing and support play a major role in meeting health objectives and tackling health inequalities, and it is crucial that housing and support feature in the new health system. The new Health and Social Care Act gives more responsibility for commissioning to clinicians and supports local authorities to take on new roles to improve public health. This event provided an opportunity to follow the latest twists and turns in the health, care and support agendas and gain an understanding of these far-reaching changes, both nationally and locally, including the best way to engage with the Health and Wellbeing boards and the Clinical Commissioning Groups and find a route through this challenging period of transformation. Presentations are available online.

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Creating a dementia-friendly York

Posted on: 4 October 2012
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The York Dementia Without Walls project looked into what’s needed to make York a good place to live for people with dementia and their carers. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has published the findings from the project with the practical ideas in the report shaped by local people affected by dementia. One of four areas highlighted,where real change is achievable, is that of place. Making York as easy as possible to move around and enjoy, with uncluttered and clear signage, and making public transport and facilities comfortable, easy to use and accessible.

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Spa management workforce and education: Addressing market gaps

Posted on: 2 October 2012
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A new report has been published to help the global spa industry deal with a gap between job opportunities and qualified candidates. It examines the difficulties the industry faces in hiring qualified management personnel. Developed by SRI International (founded as Stanford Research Institute) for the GSWS, the report identifies the root cause of a high demand for talent and proposes recommendations to address the workforce gap.

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Housing Health Cost Calculator

Posted on: 17 September 2012
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BRE has launched a new tool which measures the impact of poor housing on the health of homeowners. The Housing Health Cost Calculator has been developed in partnership with environmental health specialists RHE to provide local authorities with the information they need to drive up public health standards and reduce costs. It demonstrates the relationship between health and hazards in the home, measuring the cost savings to the NHS and wider society gained through the implementation of home improvement strategies.

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Measuring the wellbeing benefits of interior materials: Research programme WISER (Wellbeing: Improving Satisfaction of End users in Refurbishment)

Posted on: 23 August 2012
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This Information Paper provides some background on the subject of wellbeing in buildings and presents the findings of a BRE Trust project, ‘Measuring the wellbeing benefits of interior material selection’. The project’s innovative approach was in focusing on end users’ wellbeing beyond the scope of indoor air quality: wellbeing that occupants perceive to be influenced primarily by the materials used in built environments. BRE’s WISER data-collection tool and Five golden rules guide will enable decision makers to choose materials for refurbishment and refit projects that will support the wellbeing of occupants. [ISBN 978-1-84806-293-1 Price £13]

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5th Healthy Cities: Working together to achieve liveable cities. Geelong, Australia, 6-8 June 2012

Posted on: 17 August 2012
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The conference provided a platform to discuss causes, effects and solutions that related to population health, sustainability, natural resource management, transport, climate change, and urban design. Presentations and podcasts are available online.

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Safety culture on the Olympic Park

Posted on: 16 August 2012
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The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health and the Health and Safety Executive jointly commissioned Loughborough Uuniversity to investigate how safety techniques were communicated and the impact they had across multiple contractors during the Olympic build.

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Reuniting health with planning: healthier homes, healthier communities

Posted on: 31 July 2012
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The Town & Country Planning Association has published a handbook, the first of its kind since the Government set out a radical reform agenda across the planning and health sectors, including a requirement on planners to work with public health organisations, and a new public health responsibility for local authorities. It explains the relevance of these reforms for health and planning, and gives planners and public health practitioners ideas for how they can work together. The handbook aims to keep the importance of integrated working, specifically between planning and health, on the agenda. Using case studies from around England, it explores how places are using this time of change to push forward their intention to integrate their work across both sectors.  A series of regional seminars are being held as part of the launch of the handbook. The handbook, case studies and event presentations are available online.

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Lifetime Homes Standards

Posted on: 17 July 2012
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The Lifetime Homes standard is a set of 16 design criteria that provide a model for building accessible and adaptable homes.The Department for Communities and Local Government has published the following reports which were commissioned by the previous government and are not necessarily a reflection of the current government’s policies and priorities. The reports and findings are of general policy interest, but do not relate to forthcoming policy announcements.

Modelling the current and potential accessibility of the housing stock

This report by Building Research Establishment considers the accessibility of the existing housing stock in England with particular reference to its utility for older and disabled people.

Assessing the cost of Lifetime Homes Standards

This report by the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) looks at establishing the cost impact of introducing the Lifetime Homes Standards in private sector housing, identifying best practice and the potential cost savings that can be delivered through efficiency of design.

Health benefits of Lifetime Home Standards

This report by the Building Research Establishment sets out findings from work to determine the relative benefits of building to the Lifetime Home Standard.

 Lifetime Homes: Technical forum

This report by Habinteg Housing Association captures discussions and recommendations which emerged from a Technical Working Group established to test proposals for improving guidance in the Lifetime Home Standard.

Analysis of distribution of housing typologies in Public and Private Sector and typical compatibility with the Lifetime Home Standard

This research conducted by Levitt Bernstein considers the impact of and current compliance with the 16 point standard of Lifetime Homes Lifetime Neighbourhoods – a National strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society.

Impact on site density of Lifetime Homes

This research work conducted by Levitt Bernstein is an extension to an earlier piece of work and represents an initial exploration of the impact that the application of Lifetime Homes Standards is likely to have on the site density of private sector housing. It concentrates on low to medium density suburban developments, typically 30-60 dwellings per hectare (dph).

Design of Lifetime Homes

This research conducted by Hunt Thomson Architects seeks to evaluate the impact on designing private sectors homes to meet the Lifetime Home Standard, and in particular to understand the likely impact of seeking to minimise both increase in cost and any necessary increase in the overall size of properties by adopting the standard. The project utilised analysis of a range of typical speculative housing development plans and compares these designs with entirely new housing layouts which incorporate the 16 elements of the Lifetime Home Standard.

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