Industry leaders are set to launch a hard-hitting poster campaign in a drive to cut the number of accidents on site,

Developer Stanhope and contractor Bovis Lend Lease have hired branding consultant Firedog to research the campaign, which they hope will be applied throughout the industry. The companies said a tough health and safety message was needed to replace the 鈥渋rresponsible and confusing鈥� warnings currently displayed on sites.

Peter Rogers, Stanhope director, said the industry鈥檚 warning system was in urgent need of overhaul. He said: 鈥淎t the moment, you walk on to a building site and are confronted with a plethora of health and safety signs, all different colours and types. It鈥檚 so confusing that people can鈥檛 take in the warnings.鈥�

One option under consideration is to use actual accident photographs to hammer home the health and safety message to workers. The campaign organisers have drawn inspiration from the graphic 鈥淜ill your speed鈥� campaign for safe driving, as well as a recent Bovis project that displayed children鈥檚 posters with slogans such as 鈥淒addy, please come home tonight鈥�.

Rogers said: 鈥淭he designs need to be tough to get the message across. I鈥檓 sick of going on site and seeing formal warnings plastered across walls. If signs are ignored, workers may not be going home in the same condition as they arrived at work in the morning.鈥�

The move by Stanhope and Bovis came as Willmott Dixon launched its own poster campaign to encourage the correct use of ladders on site. The poster (left), which the contractor is making available unbranded for other firms to use, shows a wheelchair beneath the slogan 鈥淚t could be you鈥�.

A Willmott Dixon spokesperson said that the hard-hitting message had a strong impact on workers. He said: 鈥淭he design has gone down a storm on site.鈥�