If you want a big oak tree in your front garden, the best time to plant it is 50 years ago. The next best time to plant it is right now.The same is true of safety on building sites. Unfortunately too many people have an “Oh shit” moment as someone is driven away from their construction site in an ambulance after an accident that could have been avoided. But that is too late. Too late for the person injured, and too late for the person in charge.Health and Safety in construction is absolutely about prevention, not cure.I’ve done almost every job there is in construction. From being an 18-year site dogsbody and tea boy, through to being a Project Manager of multi million pound commercial development projects, and so I’ve seen it all.I’ve seen impeccably well run sites where the site manager could tell you how many corn plasters were in the first aid kit. I’ve also seen managers marched off to a prison cell, mourning the death of a colleague and watching their reputation and livelihood disappear down the drain.It’s very simple. It’s a choice.That’s why I now work at SafetyPoint. Their new safety station is one of the biggest leaps forward in site safety in my lifetime. Traditionally the safety station has been an after thought that was rushed, cobbled, and botched.With SafetyPoint it’s a simple portable pop-up that moves from site to site. Everyone is safer.Oh, and I’m an Arsenal fan.