INFRA Skills Supports Mental Health Awareness Day

INFRA Skills, a leading safety-critical and non-safety-critical training provider in the UK, proudly stands behind Mental Health Awareness Day. According to Network Rail’s ‘Safety Central,’ one in four adults in the UK will experience mental health issues at some point in their lives. To address the impact on workers, INFRA Skills and its sister company, RSS Infrastructure, have developed various strategies to combat fatigue and enhance working conditions.

Promoting Mental Health

INFRA Skills, in collaboration with the Mental Health Foundation, aims to eradicate the stigma surrounding mental health perceptions as part of World Mental Health Awareness Day. They strive to ensure that individuals living with mental illness never feel isolated and always have someone to turn to for support.

Tackling Workplace Challenges

Recognizing that workplace environments can contribute to anxiety and depression, RSS Infrastructure and INFRA Skills are launching innovative programs to mitigate their negative effects. Combined anxiety and depression account for a significant proportion of workdays missed in the UK. To combat fatigue, RSSI has implemented a comprehensive monitoring system that factors in travel time, shift duration, and task type during the rostering process. This system ensures that workers are not assigned shifts or projects that exceed appropriate limits and takes measures like local lodging to ensure their safety.

Ensuring Safe Transportation and Vigilance

RSS Infrastructure places a strong emphasis on safe transportation to job sites. As pioneers in the rail industry, they have introduced a specialized Driver Awareness Warning System (DAWS). This innovative gadget, mounted on the dashboard, tracks drivers’ blinking patterns and issues audio warnings if signs of drowsiness, exhaustion, or distraction from the road are detected.

Caring for Traumatic Situations

Understanding the heightened risk of mental health problems after traumatic events, RSS Infrastructure offers support to anyone who has experienced or witnessed such incidents. They have plans to establish a Wellbeing Network, consisting of business volunteers who will receive mental health first aid training and regularly meet to discuss projects, raise awareness, and provide support. The Traumatic Situation Plan is already in place, ensuring that employees have sufficient resources to understand and respond to potentially traumatic incidents.

Combating Rail Suicides and Supporting Mental Health

RSS Infrastructure and INFRA Skills actively support Network Rail’s ‘We Listen’ campaign in collaboration with the Samaritans. By implementing preventative measures, such as Intervention Training for railway employees, they aim to reduce the number of rail suicides caused by mental illness.

Conclusion

Mental health issues range from simple concerns to long-term conditions, and INFRA Skills and RSS Infrastructure are dedicated to providing support and assistance. Through their comprehensive approach, these organizations contribute to the nationwide effort of helping individuals facing mental health challenges.

For more information, or for a safe way to seek advice there are many helplines available.

Samaritans | 08457 90 90 90
www.samaritans.org

Rethink Mental Illness | 0300 5000 927
https://www.rethink.org

MIND | 08457 660 163
www.mind.org.uk

At INFRA Skills, we’re passionate about delivering high-quality training and assessments tailored to the infrastructure sector. Our dedicated team is always here to help and guide you. If you have any questions or want to chat about our courses, don’t hesitate to reach out!

📞 Give us a call at 0330 113 0006

📧 Or drop us an email at info@infraskills.co.uk

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