Welcome to SHAKO Site Management Services Ltd

At SHAKO Site Management Services Ltd, we are dedicated to promoting the importance of Site Supervisors reviewing their work area, identifying the hazards, and ensuring control measures are in place to eliminate or reduce the risk of those hazards occurring and communicating this information to the operatives that they are supervising.

The use of our free-to-use app shako.org.uk not only shows that Site Supervisors are reviewing their work area, it also educates site operatives over time to understand how their actions and inactions can create hazards, and the control measures that need to be in place to eliminate or reduce the risk of those hazards occurring.

We are trying to get everybody in the workplace to be consciously aware of the hazards around them and take proactive action.

It Will Never Happen To Me

One fall. Ten metres. And in a single moment, everything changed.
Not just for me — but for my wife, my kids, and everyone who loves me.

I’d spent 35 years in construction. I thought I knew how to stay safe.
But I was wrong.
The “safe system of work” I trusted turned out to be a death trap.
It failed — and I fell.

The impact shattered my body.
The aftermath shattered our lives.

What followed was worse than the fall:
Pain. Trauma. A healthcare system that couldn’t cope.
And a company that didn’t care — more worried about covering their backs than owning up to what they’d done.

This book is not just my story.
It’s a warning.

Because what happened to me could happen to you.
And when it does, it doesn’t just break the worker — it breaks their whole world.

I’m writing this to make sure no other family goes through what mine did.
To show where safety culture fails — and how we fix it.
To speak up when too many stay silent.
And to fight for real change in an industry that still buries too much.

Every word in this book is the truth.
And every claim can be proven — with hospital reports, site records, and the scars I carry every day.

BOOK REVIEW

Alejandro Garcia

I teach scaffold design in simple language | CEng MICE

It will never happen to me."

"I know what I'm doing."
If you work in construction, those words may have crossed your mind a few times.
You leave the site cabin to make a quick check on the scaffold.
Halfway there, you realised you forgot the hat.
"It's just a minute. I'll be fine."
And a hammer falls.

"Put your mask on when you're cutting stone!
"It's just 5 minutes. I'm almost done."
A few years later:
"You've silicosis."

Mark Stanway, a British carpentry contractor with 35 years of experience, had a similar thinking:
"I'm careful. I know what I'm doing."
But on 2 July 2015, he fell 10 metres from a scaffold.
In his own words:

𝘐 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘧, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸.

This accident shattered his body.
It shattered his life.
And it shattered his family's lives.

Mark has published a book (3 June) that every construction worker should read:
𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲
He shares everything about the accident:

• What happened
• The consequences to his life and, especially, his family's
• The times he thought: "They will better without me"
• Why the accident happened
• Who was responsible (he's on the list too)
• How to prevent future accidents

As Mark explains:
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.
𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.
𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳 - 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥.

If you're interested in construction, health & safety, or mental health, you must read this book.
It's worth every line.

SITE MANAGER WHO EXPERIENCED AS A CHILD HIS OWN FATHERS WORKPLACE ACCIDENT.

"Been reading your book. brought back a lot of painful memories that I experienced as a child and what you describe as the ripple affect, and how it not only affects you but also the family. i consider myself very lucky that my mom like your wife, stood by my dad, like your wife has with you. I'm 100% sure if they hadn't the outcome would have been a lot different. Your wife is 1 in a billion how she stood by you, just like my mom with my dad."

HSE ADVISER

"I've purchased and read the book, and it certainly brings things back to the reality of potential consequences . Your book is definitely worth a read, and I have purchased a few for the guys on site and recommend to anyone in the construction industry. Very interesting and thoughtful read"

A PERSON WHO SUFFERED AN ACCIDENT IN THE WORKPLACE.

" just finished reading it. So many emotions were stirred. I can relate to many of your thoughts and feelings. I'm on a journey after becoming a double amputee."

CONSTRUCTION PROFESIONAL

" This book is brilliant, and mind-opening. People starting in construction should read chapters 6 and 7 before getting a foot on site. I've always been concerned about health and safety and hate reading news about deaths in construction. But I used to focus on the person lost, and forget about those who remain: friends, family and colleagues."

SHAKO Site Management Services Ltd