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Build & Thrive
Build & Thrive is the podcast transforming occupational health and wellbeing in the construction industry. Hosted by Jennie Armstrong, founder of Construction Health & Wellbeing, each episode features inspiring conversations with experts and change-makers dedicated to creating a healthier, happier workforce.
Hear interviews with inspirational individuals and experts who are leading the way in tackling the industry’s toughest challenges, from staggering health statistics to skills shortages and talent retention. Did you know construction workers are nearly 4 times more likely to take their own lives through suicide than workers in other industries? Or that they’re 100 times more likely to die from work-related health issues than safety incidents?
It’s clear we need to do more. Built to Thrive is here to spark change, celebrate innovation, and inspire action for a brighter future in construction.
Join us for real stories, practical advice, and the latest in health and wellbeing strategies for the construction sector. Subscribe now on your favourite podcast platform, and follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube to stay updated. Together, we can make construction a place where everyone can thrive.
Build & Thrive
Building the Super Sewer, Building a Better Culture: Making Health as Visible as Safety with Andy Mitchell and Steve Hails
In this episode of Build & Thrive, host Jennie Armstrong is joined by Andy Mitchell, CEO of Tideway, and Steve Hails, Director of Business Services and Health, Safety & Wellbeing, to explore how one of the UK’s most ambitious engineering projects became a benchmark for culture, care, and collaboration in construction.
Together, they discuss how the £4.6 billion Thames Tideway Tunnel - or “Super Sewer” - didn’t just clean up London’s river, but redefined what it means to build with purpose. From designing health and wellbeing into every contract, to creating the now-famous “RightWay” culture and industry-first Epic Induction, Tideway proved that profitability and people-first values can thrive side by side.
Jennie reflects on her own seven-year journey with the project, as Andy and Steve share the honest lessons, challenges, and decisions that shaped one of the most progressive safety and wellbeing programmes in the sector - including how genuine care from leadership created trust, loyalty, and lasting change across thousands of workers and suppliers.
What we cover:
- How Tideway combined world-class engineering with a culture of care
- The vision that set new benchmarks for health, safety & wellbeing
- Building “one team” across client and contractors through trust and respect
- The role of leadership in designing a healthy culture from the start
- Why caring isn’t a cost - and how client-led change transforms outcomes
- Lessons on fatigue, mental health, and the legacy of transformational leadership
Andy and Steve show that when a project starts right - with purpose, people, and partnership at its core - it becomes more than infrastructure. It becomes a legacy.
If you want to understand how culture, health, and leadership can transform construction projects - this episode is essential listening.
🎧 https://www.buzzsprout.com/2431164 (or search your podcast app)
📺 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEoibJLDuFnnT3qSQw37LKPG6xlyvCj7B
🔹 Thank you to our sponsor, GKR Scaffolding, for supporting this series and helping us share our mission of improving health and wellbeing in construction.
Episode Links:
Jennie Armstrong: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniearmstrong/
Construction Health & Wellbeing: https://constructionhealth.co.uk/
Tideway:
Website: https://www.tideway.london/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tideway-london/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tidewaylondon/
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/tidewaylondon
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TidewayLondon
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/tidewaylondon
Andy Mitchell:
Steve Hails:
GKR Scaffolding (sponsor): https://gkrscaffolding.co.uk/
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