The Federation of Piling Specialists (FPS) has introduced a refreshed Health, Safety, Operations & Plant, HSOP, Focus Group, alongside a new way of working designed to bring greater clarity, stronger accountability and more delivery-focused outcomes across the sector.
Developed and approved by FPS Council, the revised structure has been created to help drive meaningful improvements across health, safety, wellbeing, operations and plant safety in the UK piling and geotechnical sector. It is intended to provide a simpler and more focused framework for identifying priorities, involving the right people and delivering practical outputs that can support members on site and across their businesses.
Under the new model, the HSOP Focus Group will work through three agreed focus areas, Safety, Plant & Equipment, and Operations & Workforce. Rather than operating through multiple standing sub-committees, each focus area will have up to two live priorities at any one time, one short-term quick win and one longer-term strategic priority. This means there will be a maximum of six live priorities across the group at any point, helping to ensure pace, clear ownership and effective use of members’ time.
Each priority will be supported by a Focus Area Lead, a Priority Lead and deputy, and a small delivery group drawn from FPS members. The aim is to ensure that outputs are practical, proportionate and suitable for real site use, whether in the form of good practice guidance, technical notes, tools and templates, competence frameworks, or safety alerts and learning summaries.
The updated way of working is also intended to improve alignment between health and safety, operations and plant disciplines, while encouraging strong member involvement where it adds value most. Participation will be open to FPS members across health and safety, operations and plant roles, with input from clients, contractors and manufacturers where appropriate.
To support delivery, the new structure will include a six-weekly virtual Steering Committee, quarterly in-person senior reviews, priority delivery groups meeting as required, and biannual member updates. Together, this will provide a regular rhythm for progress reviews, governance, practical development work and wider member engagement.
The refreshed approach reflects a clear commitment from the FPS to focus on what matters most, reduce complexity and deliver consistent, industry-led guidance and standards. The overarching purpose of the group is to improve health, safety and wellbeing outcomes, operational excellence and plant safety across the UK piling sector through shared learning, practical guidance, better data use and measurable improvement.
The revised Terms of Reference are now in place; with Focus Area Leads and initial priorities due to be confirmed shortly. Members will be invited to contribute to specific priority groups during Q2.
FPS members interested in contributing to a particular focus area or priority are encouraged to look out for further communications or contact the FPS Secretariat: FPS@fps.org.uk