There are still lots of companies that do not have a Social Media Policy Statement. In today’s environment people often post photos of construction projects on their social media accounts, whether that be a business or personal account. I was recently asked for my opinion on a scenario where a subcontractor posted a photo on Twitter of construction work on a project and tagged the location. In normal circumstances, this should not cause a problem. In this case, the project was a security sensitive building. Without realising it, the subcontractor had alerted the world to the project and included four photos of the building. The Principal Contractor was notified by the client that evening. It took to the following morning for the subcontractor to be contacted and asked to delete the post. To avoid this happening again, the Principal Contractor needs to have a Social Media Policy Statement that advises that no photographs, description, or reference to any of its construction projects can be posted on the internet without the Contract Manager’s approval. The Social Media Policy Statement then needs to be distributed to all staff and supply chain members. The wording should also be inserted into the subcontractor appointment letters. In this case, the fault lay with the Principal Contractor for not having any instructions in place.
To get started with reviewing digital content, I recommend the short courses organised by CITB NI. A recent course was titled ‘Social Media for the Construction Industry’. There are ongoing courses throughout the year which provide very useful information for companies of all sizes. To visit the CITB NI website, click here https://www.citbni.org.uk.
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