The UK is set to witness significant private infrastructure projects in 2026, with over £15 billion worth of projects scheduled to break ground or reach major milestones. These projects span various sectors, including transport, energy, and urban regeneration.

For comparison, NHS spend was about £205bn in 2024 /2025.

The management of large infra-structure projects involves an interaction between engineering, governance and strategic decision making.  Risk management in the project lifecycle is required for planning, design, procurement, construction, operation, maintenance and eventual decommissioning or renewal.

This is all played out in a complex co-ordination between Client, Principal Designer, Principal Contractor and Tier 1, 2 and 3 contractors.

Ill health statistics in construction are among the worst in industry. The construction sector accounts for over half of all occupational cancers. There is an urgent requirement for occupational hygienists to be engaged at most every level of the infra-structure project life cycle. The employment opportunities for occupational hygienists are substantial however an understanding of the terrain and mode of service delivery is required to help hygienists penetrate and operate within the sector.

Thankfully, due to the efforts of organisations such as HSE, BOHS and Health in Construction Leadership Group, occupational hygienists are increasingly engaged in major infra-structure projects. At present this engagement tends to be at construction phase, though there is healthy interest in occupational hygiene within the design community.

This webinar reflects the typical engagement of occupational hygienists on infra-structure projects today. The webinar will address the development of project standards for good occupational hygiene practice, co-ordination with occupational health, coordination with safety professionals, applying the hierarchy of control, performance metrics, the utility and mode of workplace monitoring and the need for upskilling a sector that remains relatively immature in approach to occupational hygiene.

The webinar will include case studies from two of the largest infra-structure projects in the UK.

Agenda

13:00 Introductions

13:05 Kelvin Williams

Major infra structure projects in the UK - what are we talking about?

Construction health risks and the opportunity for engagement of occupational hygienists.

What we have learnt from experience at HPC.

13:30 Alice Bindon

Case Study on the occupational hygiene arrangements at HPC

13:40 Minal Pachchigar

Case Study on the occupational hygiene arrangements at HS2 Euston

13:50 Question and Answer

Speaker Biographies

Kelvin Williams, Occupational Hygiene Director

Kelvin Williams has 38 years’ experience in occupational hygiene and is a Chartered Occupational Hygienist. He is the Occupational Hygiene Director at the Health Partners Group, Past President of the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) and a Fellow of the Faculty of Occupational Hygiene. Kelvin has experience working in a wide range of sectors including automotive, aerospace, construction, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food and various government agencies. Kelvin has served as the lead occupational hygienist at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station construction project.

Alice Bindon

Alice is the Occupational Hygiene Manager at Hinkley Point C, Europe’s largest construction site. Over the past 4.5 years, she has led the site’s occupational hygiene strategy and delivered comprehensive worker health protection programmes. Her role focuses on proactive health risk management, exposure assessment, embedding effective health-focused practices, and ensuring robust compliance across a complex, high-risk construction environment.

Minal Pachchigar, Occupational  Hygiene Associate

Minal Pachchigar has 8 years’ international and UK experience in occupational hygiene and health and safety. As a consultant, Minal has worked with clients across many industries (healthcare, manufacturing, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, automotive, agriculture) supporting assessment and control of air quality, noise exposures, and development of health risk profiles and management plans. As an in-house hygienist for a government organisation Minal developed a hearing conservation program, supporting its implementation with development of policies, standards and guidance, and training to ensure compliance. Minal currently serves as occupational hygienist to the construction of the HS2 Southern Terminus at Euston.

Minal holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Occupational and Environmental Hygiene.