Media students from Forth Valley College have been commissioned to make a film to help raise awareness of mental illness and reduce accidents at the Grangemouth refinery.
The Grangemouth Contractors Safety Alliance (GCSA) - a committee of Senior Contractor Managers and HSE professionals who are committed to reducing injuries, accidents and environmental impacts, and ensuring both companies’ and legislative compliance within and beyond the Grangemouth complex – have entrusted a team of FVC students with directing, producing, scripting, casting, filming and editing the short film.
Titled ‘#NoStigma’ the film aims to highlight the need for openness in discussing and addressing mental health issues in the workplace. It will feature professional actors Duncan Rennie and Lauren McCusker, along with cast from both GCSA and FVC and has been shot over two days in November 2018. It is understood the film will be completed and released soon.
Professional TV Director/Producer Craig Collinson also agreed to mentor and advise the student team involved throughout the creative filming process.
The film centres around Adam, a construction worker. Adam is experiencing challenges with his mental health however he appears unwilling to seek or accept help. The film will follow Adam through his day as he wrestles with the feelings he is experiencing while trying to pretend everything is alright. While his colleagues are aware that something is amiss, they initially seem unwilling to help. The film uses imagery to convey its messages with little dialogue.
Creative Industries Lecturer Fi Milligan Rennie, said: “The students involved have worked very hard to deliver an industry standard work for the client. It has been a steep learning curve for some, but every student has risen to the challenge, responding to their roles in a consistently professional manner. I am certain the client will be delighted with the finished work.’
Craig Collinson, who is mentoring the students, said: “This is really innovative opportunity for students to go beyond the academic environment and get a taste of the world they’re aspiring to make a living in. Producing creative content; be it cinematic or corporate is about hard deadlines, budget challenges and realising the client’s vision. FVC have set up a deep dive ‘get real’ experience that offers students a sense of this. I don’t think anyone’s making the effort to do this at this level and it has been an absolute pleasure to support this initiative.”
Steven Casci, Health and Safety Manager – Luddon PetroChemical Division, said: “Luddon Construction form part of the GCSA Core Group of companies and we are acutely aware of the ongoing challenge with addressing mental health issues. Mental health and behavioural problems are reported to be the primary drivers of disability worldwide and a major contributing factor of suicide within the construction industry. Male site workers in construction are statistically three times more likely to commit suicide than the average UK male; as such we must address this! We are extremely proud to be part of this unique and innovative project and hope this is just the start of an ongoing relationship with Forth Valley College. We are taking huge steps towards reducing and hopefully eventually eliminating the stigma associated with mental health.”
GCSA - the largest contractor forum in the UK - are the cornerstone of not only a successful Health and Safety and Environment performance at the Grangemouth complex, but also for developing and delivering ongoing innovation within Industry and ideally beyond. They pride themselves on doing this by providing high quality training, developing and delivering strategy, communicating HSE incidents on the complex and also through ongoing cooperation in comprehensive workplace evaluations.
