On 7 May 2025, CECA North East delivered a powerful and thought-provoking training session, Mock Investigation – Navigating a Crisis, attended by 38 delegates from eighteen CECA member companies and client organisations.
Led by Emma Bowens, Partner at Gunnercooke, the session provided an immersive, scenario-based experience focused on what happens in the immediate aftermath of a serious health and safety incident.
The event walked attendees through the key stages of an investigation, highlighting the critical decisions that need to be made under pressure. With a strong emphasis on real-world challenges, delegates were asked how they would react in difficult situations and were guided through best practices on preserving the scene, handling requests from the police and HSE, legal privilege, and how to avoid unnecessary escalation.
One of the most valuable aspects of the session was its practical approach. Emma provided clear guidance on what to do – and importantly, what not to do – when crisis strikes. From understanding your rights to avoiding premature document disclosures, the session offered pragmatic, legally-sound advice that delegates found both engaging and essential.
Key takeaways from participants included the importance of reinforcing a positive safety culture, the need to pause and think before acting, and the critical role of seeking legal advice early. One delegate noted, “We will review our current procedures for following up major incidents,” while another stressed that the session should be extended to site managers and operational staff to highlight that health and safety is everyone’s responsibility – not just that of HSQE teams or senior management.
The event strongly aligned with CECA’s core pillars of Skills & Training and Health, Safety & Wellbeing. It underlined the idea that getting the basics right – such as documentation and monitoring – can make all the difference in avoiding enforcement action and protecting both businesses and individuals.
By simulating an incident that didn’t go well, the session showed just how easily things can unravel without the right knowledge and preparation. This mock investigation wasn’t just theoretical: it was a call to action for infrastructure businesses to invest in training and ensure they are truly crisis-ready.
For organisations in the civil engineering sector, this wasn’t just another training session – it was an essential lesson in resilience, responsibility, and readiness. CECA NE would like to thank Emma and her colleagues at Gunnercooke for running the session, and look forward to hosting further such sessions for members in the future.
CECA North East is to host a ‘Mock Trial’ on Wednesday 18 June at Lumley Castle, Chester le Street.
We will look at what happens when work is not planned and managed well. This will include looking at the legal impact for an operative who didn’t follow procedures, and the senior manager who didn’t take effective action when challenges on site were developing:
In this new Mock Trial, jurors will consider the events that led to a fatality in 2022. We return to the scene of an excavation in a busy town centre. The accident victim was working close by the excavation when he was hit by a reversing vehicle. He fell into the hole, and the vehicle fell on top of him. Sadly, he died at the scene.
We will listen to witnesses explain the challenges on site, including poor planning and limited space. Two defendants will try to persuade the jury that they are ‘not guilty’ of the charges against them, whilst we will hear what the wife of the deceased has to say about the incident.
Places (limited to 5 per company) are FREE to CECA members and priced at £75.00+VAT per person for non-members. Online bookings can be made here.