“Prevention is better than cure” is a principle that sits at the very heart of occupational hygiene. The profession is grounded in the principles of anticipating, recognising, evaluating, and controlling workplace health hazards. However, true prevention is rarely achieved in isolation. To this end, the holy grail of Occupational Health must be collaborative working; the close co-operation of Occupational Medicine, Occupational Hygiene and other health-related disciplines, to bring together the skills of all parties to achieve and maintain a fit and healthy workforce. However, in the modern workplace this close co-operation and communication is not always possible as these functions tend to be separated, contracted out or provided by ad-hoc consultants rather than delivered as a single, embedded service in-house.

In its delivery of an integrated Occupational Health Service for EKFB (joint venture for the HS2 project), PAM Group has bucked this trend and has provided a multi-disciplinary team to successfully influence and benefit workers’ health protection. The Client, EKFB, is responsible for a large rail infrastructure and construction project, covering rural locations stretching approximately 80 km in length.  The PAM Occupational Health/Hygiene team is embedded within key locations across the geographical area and regularly engages with operational sites, both participating in and leading a range of health improvement initiatives.

The service is integrated within the wider Health and Safety framework, ensuring the effective delivery of Occupational Hygiene activities and close alignment with client teams. This collaborative approach supports not only the collection and interpretation of exposure monitoring data, but also the implementation of recommended control measures.

Traditionally, a consultant would not have such close integration with Health & Safety teams. However, this is a key advantage of our in-house role, enabling a much stronger and more direct working relationship. This integration allows actions to be raised across a variety of platforms and assigned directly to relevant duty holders and Health & Safety teams, ensuring a timely response and the efficient implementation of improved control measures. Follow-up surveys are also more easily conducted, as access to site to verify the effectiveness of implemented controls and ensure that exposure levels have been reduced to acceptable limits is easily achieved.

From the point of view of an Occupational Hygienist, within a multidisciplinary PAM OH Service comprising Occupational Health, MSK / Physiotherapy, Wellbeing, Counselling, Drug and Alcohol Testing, it is particularly pleasing to be able to work within such a diverse team. Through effective cross communication within the groups, it has been possible for all to have a greater understanding of the bigger workplace picture and to achieve a proactive rather than a reactive approach to worker health.

Below are some examples of the types of co-operative work carried out by the PAM OH Team and the added value benefits these have delivered to the Project. This really demonstrates the 2-way street where Health Practitioners inform Occupational Hygiene and vice versa:

Regular team site visits – Clinical teams can go beyond the clinic by accompanying the Occupational Hygiene team on site visits. This allows them to experience the working environment first-hand and gain a deeper understanding of the tasks carried out across various job roles on the project.

During these visits, the Occupational Hygiene team emphasises the importance of overall health and wellbeing. Clinicians can observe workers in their natural working environment, which helps them better understand how and why exposure to workplace hazards may occur during routine activities.

This hands-on experience provides a genuine appreciation of real working practices and conditions. As a result, clinicians can engage more effectively with workers, as their knowledge of the workplace is significantly enhanced. 

Ergonomics – Working closely with the MSK/Physiotherapy team, driver ergonomics assessments and risk factor tools are used alongside Whole Body Vibration (WBV) monitoring to accurately characterise exposure risks for plant operators during earthworks activities. This approach enables the early identification of risks and supports the prompt implementation of effective mitigation measures, which is critical in preventing prolonged exposure.

MSK teams also can visit sites and experience the range of plant cab designs and features first-hand, providing them with a realistic understanding of the condition’s operators are exposed to. This insight is invaluable when treating plant operators, as it allows clinicians to deliver more targeted rehabilitation and treatment strategies based on a clear understanding of the specific demands and exposures associated with their working environment.

By integrating data from Occupational Hygiene reports, fit for work medical assessments and physiotherapy appointments, MSK body mapping can be developed to identify key trends and risk areas. This information is then used to design targeted MSK Conservation Programmes. These programmes aim to address specific ergonomic risk factors associated with individual job roles across the project, focusing on both prevention and early intervention to reduce the likelihood of musculoskeletal disorders and improve long-term workforce wellbeing.

Trends

Any trends identified from Occupational Health appointments are shared with the Occupational Hygiene team for further investigation. This includes the anonymised results of health surveillance activities such as audiometry, spirometry, health screenings, and early indicators of ill health.

This collaborative approach enables a clearer understanding of potential workplace hazards, helping to prioritise on-site assessments and inform the selection, implementation, and evaluation of appropriate control measures. It also supports the early identification of situations where urgent Occupational Hygiene intervention may be required, including the review of existing controls and the need for additional exposure monitoring.

Likewise, the OH Team can acknowledge the main risks of occupational exposure based on the information provided by Occ Hygiene surveys from specific work location/site and job roles and determine exactly what biological screening or targeted health surveillance to perform. Surveys are just snapshots of the work activity, but results can be extrapolated for the same activity carried out at different locations across the Project to ensure all workforces are covered and good practice is applied across all the projects.

Education

Learning is supported through knowledge sharing from Occupational Hygiene to our clinical teams. Structured training sessions ensure a consistent delivery of evidence-based information, while also enhancing clinicians’ understanding of key occupational hygiene principles, including the application of the hierarchy of controls for different health hazards encountered on site.

Occupational Hygiene monitoring results are translated into targeted education sessions by the Occupational Health team, creating opportunities to engage effectively with individuals in both small group settings and larger forums. Health hazard training programmes and Toolbox Talks are delivered as interactive awareness sessions, focusing on the potential health impacts of workplace exposures and the importance of adhering to site procedures and robust risk assessments. These sessions have proven to be highly effective, generating significantly greater engagement compared to traditional verbal Toolbox Talks.

Professional Development (CPD) sits at the heart of the educational support we provide to the Health and Safety teams. Through focused training sessions, we deliver a deeper understanding of construction-related hazards and exposures, helping colleagues develop the knowledge and confidence needed to identify and manage health risks effectively on site.

We believe that the word Health appears first in the phrase Health and Safety for a reason. Protecting workers from long-term health risks is just as important as preventing immediate safety incidents. By increasing awareness of occupational health hazards and recognised good control practices, we enable H&S teams to confidently challenge traditional construction methods and promote healthier ways of working.

Collaboration is a key part of our approach. We have delivered several joint training sessions alongside members of the H&S team, demonstrating the value of an integrated approach to worker protection. These co-delivered sessions help colleagues better understand the role of Occupational Hygiene within the wider health and safety framework, strengthening cross-disciplinary working and supporting a shared commitment to protecting workforce health and wellbeing.

Health Risk Register

Occupational Hygiene survey results can be incorporated into the development of a Health Risk Register, enabling effective health risk profiling across projects. This involves characterising likely exposures and their severity for different job roles and similarly exposed groups. This information supports the development of a more informed and targeted health surveillance matrix, ensuring delivery aligns with regulatory requirements and is specific to the risks identified.

In addition, detailed data can be captured, contributing to the development of robust databases such as those used for HAVS and WBV exposure monitoring during task-specific activities involving various plant and hand-held tools. Collectively, this data strengthens the evidence base for more robust, task-specific risk assessments, supporting EKFB in implementing effective control measures.

By integrating clinical evaluations and assessments with Occupational Hygiene and Wellbeing, this multi-disciplinary model successfully shifts worker health from a reactive fix to a proactive, preventive strategy. Ultimately, uniting these disciplines ensures hazards are identified and controlled effectively, while providing workers with holistic, on-site support to thrive both professionally and personally, and all achieved in a cost-effective manner. In doing so, organisations can move beyond compliance and towards excellence, creating safer workplaces, healthier employees, and better overall outcomes.