Ford, alongside the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity, is tackling mental health issues in the construction industry, working to 'Make it Visible'. The campaign, launching at this year’s commercial vehicle show in Birmingham, uses higher-viz safety vests to grab attention and point people in the direction of help when needed.
With as many as two construction workers lost to suicide every day, according to the Office for National Statistics, Ford is stepping in to help combat the issue.
Despite extensive physical safety measures taken to protect on-site workers, construction workers in the UK and Ireland are taking their own lives, unaware of the help and support available around mental health.
Working with the Lighthouse Club, and construction contractors Balfour Beatty which piloted the scheme on one of its sites in London, Ford aims to promote wellbeing awareness amongst its commercial customers.
Accounting for almost one in three new light commercial vehicles taking to the road throughout 2021 - and higher into the construction industry - Ford believes that putting mental safety on an equal footing with physical safety on building sites is an important step for this group of customers.
Heather Bryant, health, safety, environment and sustainability director at Balfour Beatty, added:
“For too long, the construction and infrastructure industry has treated mental health as the poor cousin of physical health. We must change this incredibly outdated perception – and at Balfour Beatty, we are continuing to lead the charge.
The ‘Make it Visible’ campaign helps to build on the work we have done with the charity Mates in Mind, by specifically helping us to reach those, including our valued supply chain partners, who may not be aware of the resources available to them whilst also providing a dedicated, safe space to talk.”
By helping to make the support more visible and beginning to break the taboo around discussing mental health, it is hoped that more workers will be able to seek assistance and make use of available resources when they need to.
This latest initiative sets out to provide counsellors with a means to get to construction sites, with onsite posters matching the vest’s colours. These posters will direct workers to a safe place to talk off-site, so more can seek help easily.
“This campaign is hugely important to Ford and highlights the importance of mental wellbeing alongside physical wellbeing on the construction site,” said Mandy Dean, director, commercial vehicles, Ford of Britain and Ireland.
“As the UK’s best-selling commercial vehicle brand, it is likely the majority of construction workers are also Ford customers and operators, so we feel we have a duty to support them, through this partnership with the Lighthouse Club, raising awareness and getting support to those in need of it.”
Bill Hill, CEO of the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity, said:
“We are absolutely delighted to be partnering with Ford to deliver the ‘Make it Visible’ campaign. These highly distinguishable vans will be visiting sites across the country to deliver visible support to the boots on the ground workforce.
“The vehicles are manned by the Lighthouse Club’s on-site team who are all Mental Health First Aiders with relatable experiences in the construction industry. I am convinced that this initiative will have a positive impact on workforce wellbeing and ultimately save lives.”
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