HSE International Issue 98 by HSE International Magazine

Health, Safety & Environment Worldwide

ISSUE 98 OCTOBER 2015

PLATINUM FACILITIES & Maintenance Services Ltd

ROSPA AWARDS 2015 REVIEW FEATURING AWARD WINNERS TILHILL FORESTRY LTD • SENTINEL HOUSING ASSOCIATION • NUVIA LIMITED

ALSO INCLUDING BSIF • FQM LTD • DIALIGHT PLC

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NEWS

5P PLASTIC BAG CHARGE — WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT? A plastic bag charge has been introduced in England in an attempt to reduce the prevalence of single-use carrier bags.

ll retailers with more than 250 employees must introduce a 5p charge for plastic bags from October 5, following similar moves elsewhere in the UK. The new policy is an attempt by the government to significantly decrease the number of bags used each year. In 2014, 8.5 billion plastic bags were given out in the UK. The policy will apply to all large retailers, including supermarkets and clothes shops, but with some items exempt: Uncooked fish products Uncooked meat products Chips or food sold in containers Seeds, flowers and bulbs Unwrapped blades, including axes, knives and razor blades Prescription medicines Live aquatic creatures Any item bought at an airport, train, plane or ship

England is the last country in the UK to adopt the policy — plastic bag charges have been active in Wales since 2011, Northern Ireland from 2013 and Scotland from 2014. How successful has the policy been? It depends how you measure it. The Welsh government has reported the percentage of people using their own bags as supposed to bags provided by shops has increased 61 percent to 82 percent, with support for the policy rising to 70 percent after its first year. Similar figures were found in Scotland — retailers reported that single use of bags dropped by around 80 percent after the policy was introduced. Most of the money collected from the 5p fee will be donated to environmental charities, but the Treasury still expects to make £19m a year from the charge.

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Source: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-10/05/plastic-bag-charge-england

• • • • • • • •

WHY CHARGE MONEY FOR PLASTIC BAGS? The environmental impact of plastic bags is huge, affecting ecosystems on land and in the ocean. Many bags end up in landfill sites, with chemicals seeping into the soil. Enzymes released by nylon-eating bacteria also release harmful amounts of methane as the bags degrade — a major contributor to global warming. But the major environmental impact of plastic bags is in the ocean. Around eight million tonnes of plastic ends up in our oceans each year, much of which is in bag form. This has a major impact on marine environments. A range of marine life, particularly whales, dolphins, porpoises and turtles, are seriously injured or killed when they ingest or become entangled in plastic — research puts this figure at 100,000 marine animals each year. David Barnes, ecologist at the British Antarctic Study, also noted that plastic particles are responsible for transporting persistent organic pollutants and distributing algae that contribute to red tides. Red tides are algae blooms that rapidly decay, releasing nitrogen and killing marine life. Clearing the ocean of this plastic is extremely difficult, as bags and other pollutants often release micro-particles that are hard to remove without also harming other forms of marine life. These particles are also ingested by fish and smaller marine species. Figures from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are yet to show the potential environmental impact of the plastic bag charge, but environment minister Rory Stewart hopes the charges will improve damage caused by bags to wildlife and marine environments. “Simple changes to our shopping routines, such as taking our own bags with us or using more bags for life, can make a huge difference in reducing the amount of plastic in circulation — meaning we can all enjoy a cleaner, healthier country,” he said.

Source: http://www.hseinternational.co.uk/hse-issues-safety-warning-following-gas-leak/

HSE ISSUES SAFETY WARNING FOLLOWING GAS LEAK

SAFETY WARNING AS NORTHERN IRELAND FARM DEATHS INCREASE

A safety alert has been issued after a faulty piece of equipment led to a gas leak on an offshore platform.

Deaths on Northern Ireland’s farms have more than doubled in the last year, according to the Health and Safety Executive. Twenty three people were killed in the workplace, nine of them on farms.

hief Executive Keith Morrison said that since 2000, there had been 102 farming deaths in Northern Ireland. He said there was still a culture of risktaking in some parts of the farming community. “We continue to work away on the main messages around slurry, animals, falls and equipment, just to get farmers to take that extra bit of time to plan the job they’re doing, be aware of the dangers and change their behaviour,” he said. “It’s not to just be aware of it, but to actually do something to keep themselves and their families safe.” Overall, the figure of 23 workplace deaths was up from eight in 2013/14 and significantly higher than the last fiveyear average of 15 deaths per year. The Health and Safety Executive (HSENI) said it also had major concerns about poor practices in some parts of the construction, waste and recycling, and extractive industries. Its Chairman George Lucas said: “It is simply unacceptable for people to die or be seriously hurt in workplaces and clearly some parts of some industries need to do more. “As our economy recovers, we all need to be vigilant to unsafe working practices and to work hard every day to ensure we reduce the number of injuries and deaths in the workplace. “While HSENI is keen to advise companies on how to meet their legal requirements, we will not hesitate to take enforcement action where there is a clear danger to the wellbeing and safety of Northern Ireland’s workforce.”

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Source: http://www.hseinternational.co.uk/safety-warning-as-northern-ireland-farm-deaths-increase/

he Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have issued the warning following the “incident” on an unnamed offshore platform in December 2014. According to investigators, a small pipework clamp connector used to connect pipes “catastrophically failed” leading to the unwarranted gas release. A subsequent investigation found that the failure was caused by poor heat treatment during the manufacturing process, which led to it’s cracking. Further enquiry has revealed similar failures on other small-sized clamp connectors. A HSE spokesman said the platform operator had taken the correct course of action by informing the authorities of the safety risk. He added: “The failed clamp was found by the duty holder in response to their investigation of a gas leak. “Remedial action was immediately taken by the duty holder and the matter reported to HSE. “HSE have carried out further investigations into the cause and source of the defects with these clamps and taken action via this Safety Alert to ensure others are aware of the issue and the appropriate actions to take.” To date all the faulty clamps that have been found were produced by one manufacturer, George Dykes, and supplied to Vector Techlok up until 2010. A similar clamp manufactured by George Dykes is also known to have failed in service in 2014. HSE said the number of failed clamps is low and that it appears to be random issue and not batch related. North Sea platform operators have been asked to identify if they have any of the potential clamps in use on their installations and carry out hardness testing to verify if they are fit for service. Clamps that fail the hardness test must be taken out of service.

Source: http://www.hseinternational.co.uk/hugo-boss-fined-1-2m-for-health-and-safety-breaches/

NEWS

HUGO BOSS FINED £1.2M AFTER FOUR-YEAROLD BOY DIED AT ONE ITS SHOPS

usten Healey was killed by an 18-stone (114kg) changing room mirror, which fell on him at the Hugo Boss outlet in Bicester Village in 2013. He was rushed to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, where he underwent an emergency operation to relieve pressure on his brain but died four days later in hospital after his life-support machine was switched off. Hugo Boss admitted to health and safety breaches at a hearing at Banbury Magistrates’ Court on 2 June for failing to secure mirror. Jonathan Laidlaw QC, defending, entered a guilty plea for the company to offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

A ban on “unsafe lorries” in London, introduced as part of efforts to protect cyclists, has come into force.

eavy goods vehicles (HGVs) must now be fitted with side guards to prevent cyclists being dragged underneath. HGVs must also be fitted with a certain type of mirror to give drivers a better view of cyclists and pedestrians. But hauliers criticised the move as a “blunt regulatory tool” and said more should be done to target a minority of rule-breakers on London’s roads. Mayor Boris Johnson said the scheme was a “life-saver”. Each breach of the ban carries a maximum £1,000 penalty

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and repeat offenders risk losing their operating licences. The new rules, covering all roads in London except motorways, and operating 24 hours a day, were announced after a number of cyclists were killed in road crashes in London. Seven of the eight cyclist deaths in the capital this year have involved HGVs. Charlie Lloyd from the London Cycling Campaign said: “The new mirror system is really good news but most lorries already comply.” “What we’d like to see is a total re-design of a lorry cab… the driver is brought down to the level of a transit van, he can see everything around him, it solves most of the problems.” Mr Johnson said a “disproportionate” share of fatalities and serious injuries were caused by lorries. “We are ahead of any other part of the UK in closing the legal loopholes that allowed many HGVs to operate without basic safety equipment,” he said. “I am delighted that over the 18 months since we announced the safer lorry scheme, the vast majority of operators have got the message and fitted safety equipment to their vehicles in anticipation of the ban.”

Source: http://www.hseinternational.co.uk/london-safer-lorry-scheme-in-force/

LONDON SAFER LORRY SCHEME IN FORCE AFTER CYCLIST DEATHS

However, Barry Berlin, prosecuting on behalf of Cherwell District Council, told the court that the label should be sentenced at the crown court because the maximum fine at magistrates’ court was only £20,000. He suggested the case should be sentenced in the crown court where the recommended starting point of a £100,000 fine per offence could be imposed or even exceeded. Berlin said, “Plainly this a very serious matter relating to a child aged four-and-a-half who on June 4 2013 was struck on the head by a seven feet tall, 18 stone free standing three-way mirror.” “It wasn’t fixed to the wall despite its own requirements. We say, bearing in mind that the injuries the child sustained resulted in his death, that this is a case that should be dealt with in the crown court.” An inquest concluded the mirror should have been fixed to a wall, while coroner Darren Salter described the incident as “an accident waiting to happen”. In sentencing the company on September 4, Oxford Crown Court Judge Peter Ross said Hugo Boss had a “corporate responsibility”, and he wanted to ensure the issue went to the “very top of the company”. He said it “would have been obvious to the untrained eye” that the mirror posed a risk, adding that it was “nothing short of a miracle” that it had not happened sooner.

Natalie Chapman, of the Freight Transport Association, said funds used to launch the scheme would be better spent on targeting “a small proportion of lorries that don’t comply with existing regulations”. “There are better ways to achieve safer roads for all users,” she said.

ACTION NEEDED TO CUT DEATH TOLL FROM ACCIDENTS, SAYS ROSPA SCOTLAND

he statistics from Scotland’s Big Book of Accident Prevention show that accidents are the leading cause of preventable years of life lost (PrYLL) for most of the population’s lives. The family safety charity estimates that accidents in Scotland cost society £12.4billion every year, with home and leisure-time accidents accounting for £7.8billion of this - meaning it would benefit everyone in Scotland to tackle accidents, not just those people whose lives have been devastated by tragedy. Scotland’s Big Book of Accident Prevention sets out how investing in prevention can help to save lives, reduce injuries and lessen the burden on families, local communities, accident and emergency departments, the wider health and social care services and the economy as a whole. Dr Karen McDonnell, head of RoSPA Scotland, said: “While the NHS struggles, both in terms of budget and beds, here is an inexpensive and highly effective way to reduce the burden on A&E departments, and to put a stop to the devastation that accidents can cause by robbing people of their lives, and families of their loved ones, prematurely.

“In the Big Book of Accident Prevention we showcase some of the excellent accident prevention work that is being done in Scotland and argue that more should be done. There has never been a better time to increase the investment in accident prevention and it should be made a higher priority.” Scotland’s Big Book of Accident Prevention outlines how accidents account for 27 per cent of preventable years of life lost - more than in England, Northern Ireland and Wales - and that even though fatalities from road traffic incidents have been falling, this is offset by the rise in fatal home and leisure accidents. The document is available as a free download from RoSPA’s website. It follows the publication of The Big Book of Accident Prevention, which was sent to every member of every health and wellbeing board in England, and Northern Ireland’s Big Book of Accident Prevention. Download Scotland’s Big Book of Accident Prevention at: http://www.rospa.com/public-health/scotlands-big-book/

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Source: http://www.rospa.com/media-centre/press-office/press-releases/detail/?id=1407

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is urging health professionals in Scotland to help tackle the swathe of fatal accidents plaguing the country, as new figures show accidents are the leading cause of death up to the age of 44.

Source: http://www.hseinternational.co.uk/childrens-fancy-dress-costume-safety-to-be-tested/

NEWS the spot checks, said: “My immediate concern as a father and a minister is that children wearing these fancy dress costumes are safe. “It is unacceptable for any costumes to be sold that do not comply with safety standards. Parents should feel confident that any fancy dress they buy meets required standards.” Trading Standards officials will report their findings later in the autumn. Reacting to the news of the investigation, Claudia Winkleman said: “We’re extremely happy the government are taking action on this and we’re so grateful to the supermarkets who are selling safer costumes.”

CHILDREN’S FANCY DRESS COSTUME SAFETY TO BE TESTED

undreds of retailers face spot checks to test flammability of costumes to see if they meet safety standards. An assessment is also taking place to see whether European safety standards are tough enough. Last year the daughter of Strictly Come Dancing presenter Claudia Winkleman suffered serious burns when her Halloween outfit caught fire. The presenter said at the time she hoped speaking about the experience could prevent similar accidents. Spot checks Figures show that 94 people in England were admitted to hospital as a result of their clothing either igniting or melting last year, of which 21 were children under 18. The investigation follows a call from MPs for tougher fire safety regulations for children’s fancy dress. It will look at retailers of all sizes, including those online, and will check whether the costumes are meeting current safety standards required for toys. Evidence will also be fed to a separate assessment being carried out by the British Standards Institute which will look at whether Halloween costumes should be classed as toys, rather than clothing. Business Secretary Sajid Javid, who granted funding for

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To protect children from the dangers of second-hand smoke, it’s now illegal to smoke in cars and other vehicles with someone under 18 present.

rom October 1, new legislation in England and Wales makes it illegal to smoke in a vehicle carrying someone who is under 18. It is now also against the law for a driver not to stop someone smoking in these circumstances. The fine for both offences is £50. The change in the law is to protect children and young people from the damaging effects of second-hand smoke, which can put them at risk of serious conditions such as meningitis, cancer, bronchitis and pneumonia, and make asthma worse. Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer, said: “This legislation is a landmark in protecting children from second-hand smoke. Smoking just a single cigarette in a vehicle exposes children to high levels of air pollutants and cancer-causing chemicals like arsenic, formaldehyde and tar, and people often wrongly assume that opening a window, or letting in fresh air, will lessen the damage.” The new law applies to any private vehicle enclosed by a roof, even if the window is open, the air conditioning is on or the smoker is sitting in the open doorway of the vehicle. It follows an experiment by Newcastle University, Public Health England and Fresh Smoke Free North East which revealed that even with a car window open, levels of dangerous chemicals were over 100 times higher than recommended safety guidelines.

Source: http://www.hseinternational.co.uk/smoking-in-cars-with-children-banned-from-today-oct-1-2015/

An investigation into the safety of children’s fancy dress costumes is to be carried out by Trading Standards.

SMOKING IN CARS WITH CHILDREN BANNED FROM OCT 1

Professor Kevin Fenton, National Director for Health and Wellbeing at Public Health England, said: “This experiment unearths shocking data, reflecting again that there is no safe way to smoke in a car with a child. Not matter what the situation, they will always be exposed to dangerous chemicals which can put them at risk of developing serious health conditions.” As guidance from the Department of Health explains, the new laws don’t apply to e-cigarettes (vaping) or convertible cars that have the roof completely down. From October 1, it will also be illegal for retailers to sell e-cigarettes or e-liquids to someone under 18 and for adults to try to buy tobacco products or e-cigarettes for someone under 18.

Lynda Armstrong OBE, Chair of Trustees of the British Safety Council, announced the appointment of Mike Robinson as the new Chief Executive of the British Safety Council.

ynda Armstrong said: “The Trustees congratulate Mike on his appointment and look forward to working with him and his colleagues to help the British Safety Council deliver sustained business success and help achieve our vision that no one should be injured or made ill at work. “We believe Mike’s leadership style and experience will be of great value to the British Safety Council at this stage of its change journey and will be a real asset in leading the organisation through a comprehensive programme of business improvement. Mike has a real interest in occupational health and safety and is keen to make a difference in helping to keep people safe at work. “In a previous role Mike was Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, during which time he grew the business substantially, increasing profits and positioning the organisation to respond to increasing competition.” On his appointment, Mike Robinson said: “I am delighted

to be taking on the role of Chief Executive at an organisation that for almost 60 years has played an important role in shaping the regulation and management of workplace health and safety. I am looking forward to working with the Trustees and my colleagues at British Safety Council, our many members both in the UK and internationally and stakeholders including the Health and Safety Executive and other health and safety organisations to help achieve our vision that no one should be injured or made ill at work.” Mike attended and spoke at the British Safety Council’s annual conference ‘Health and Safety – What’s Next’ on Wednesday 23 September in central London. This year’s annual conference tackled key issues from across the health and safety landscape with safety as much as health at work in focus.

Source: https://www.britsafe.org/news/british-safety-council-announces-michael-robinson-new-chief-executive#

BRITISH SAFETY COUNCIL ANNOUNCES MICHAEL ROBINSON AS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE

For full details see: www.britsafe.org/whatsnext

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RoSPA AWARDS 2015 REVIEW

RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2015 The annual RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards is one of the most prestigious events in the UK health and safety calendar. Dating back 59 years, the awards scheme is the largest and longest-running programme of its kind in the UK; acknowledging outstanding achievement in health and safety that is internationally recognised as a standard of excellence across all industry sectors. HSE International discovers more about this year’s ceremony and the organisation’s history.

he Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is a registered charity that has been at the heart of accident prevention in the UK and around the world for almost a hundred years. Across the UK, there are over 14,000 deaths per year caused by accidents plus millions of other injuries; many of which are preventable. From the compulsory wearing of seatbelts and a campaign to stop drink driving, to the Cycling Proficiency Test and the ban on handheld mobile phones behind the wheel, RoSPA has been instrumental in shaping our society for the better; preventing millions of deaths and serious injuries along the way. The organisation’s mission is simple: To save lives and reduce injuries. The organisation was created after a public meeting at Caxton Hall in 1916. It was decided that a London “Safety First” council should be elected to tackle the unacceptably high number of road accidents in the city (which were directly linked to the imposition of wartime black outs). The safety council evolved into the organisation that would become known as RoSPA. RoSPA has a long history of successful campaigning on issues which have the potential to save lives and reduce injuries. From awareness campaigns which highlight how people are killed and injured in accidents and how

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such accidents can be prevented, to calling for legislative change, RoSPA is committed to speaking up for safety. Examples of the many high profile safety campaigns that have been directed by RoSPA over the years include: producing a series of workplace safety posters during World War II, aimed at improving worker safety in the industrial factories and workshops supplying the war effort; the formation of the Tufty Club in 1961, a road safety club for the under-fives featuring the cartoon character Tufty Fluffytail (created in 1953 by the late Elsie Mills MBE). RoSPA tirelessly campaigned throughout the 1970’s to make car seatbelt use compulsory in the UK - a goal that was finally achieved in 1981 after years of delays and procedural setbacks. Other important landmarks in the organisation’s history include the introduction of The Highway Code in 1931, with RoSPA represented on the committee that compiled it and the publication of the first issue of Occupational Safety & Health in 1971. In 1991 after a RoSPA five year campaign, the government agreed to make it mandatory for all electrical appliances to be sold with fitted plugs and in 2001, RoSPA lobbied for a European directive of pedestrian-friendly fronts for new cars.

“Our campaigning spirit has been evident since our earliest days. In 1917, a campaign for pedestrians to walk facing oncoming traffic led to a 70 per cent fall in road deaths.” RoSPA commented: “Our campaigning spirit has been evident since our earliest days. In 1917, a campaign for pedestrians to walk facing oncoming traffic led to a 70 per cent fall in road deaths. We were instrumental in the introduction of the first seat belt law in 1983, with the compulsory wearing of seatbelts thought to have saved 60,000 lives. More recently, we called for the use of mobile phones while driving to be banned, with the use of hand-held phones at the wheel subsequently made illegal in 2003.” The organisation believes in the importance of using evidence so accident prevention issues can be identified, campaigns prioritised and the impact of campaigns and interventions measured. RoSPA also believes that prevention should be in proportion to the risk. Campaigns RoSPA has or is currently involved in include: Blind Cord Safety, Electric Gates, Lighter Evenings, Young Drivers and Injury Data. RoSPA is also a leading provider of safety training courses. It offers courses covering a diverse range of health and safety requirements including professional level NEBOSH and IOSH accredited courses.

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RoSPA AWARDS 2015 REVIEW

Cynthia Barlow OBE is presented with her Archangel Award by Lord Brougham and Vaux, president of Safety Groups UK (left), and RoSPA chief executive Tom Mullarkey (right). Cynthia Barlow OBE is presented with her Archangel Award by Lord Brougham and Vaux, president of Safety Groups UK (left), and RoSPA chief executive Tom Mullarkey (right).

ighly respected and recognised throughout the world, the RoSPA Health and Safety Awards set the benchmark for exceptional health and safety practice across a wide variety of industries. To be considered for an award, companies must meet rigorous judging criteria by demonstrating their approach to improving health and safety management and creating an environment that enhances the wellbeing of its employees, as well as benefitting stakeholders. On Tuesday and Wednesday, July 14 and 15, over 2,000 people from numerous organisations across the globe descended on the Hilton Birmingham Metropole to celebrate the RoSPA Awards 2015; the biggest event in the health and safety calendar. Hundreds of awards had been handed out on June 16 to those striving to make their workplaces the safest in the world in a ceremony at London’s ExCeL, with an additional ceremony held on September 17 at the Hilton, Glasgow. The RoSPA Awards programme recognises commitment to accident and ill health prevention and is open to businesses and organisations of all types and sizes from across the UK and overseas. It looks at entrants’

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overarching health and safety management systems, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement. Tom Mullarkey, RoSPA’s Chief Executive, said: “The RoSPA Awards are a key fixture in the health and safety calendar and showcase organisations’ ongoing commitment to maintaining a glowing health and safety record and culture.” “Our awards encourage the raising of accident and ill health prevention standards across the board and those who have gained recognition for their achievements, particularly during tough economic conditions, raise the bar for other organisations to follow, inspiring them to do likewise.” RoSPA awards mark achievement at Merit, Bronze, Silver and Gold levels. Organisations maintaining high standards can win Gold Medals, President’s Awards and Orders of Distinction. Presentations are also made for more than 20 sector-specific awards, which recognise excellence in specialist areas such as the management of occupational road risk (MORR). RoSPA also honoured its Guardian Angels - individuals who go above and beyond to improve the safety of others. Headline sponsor for the awards was NEBOSH - the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and

RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2015

Health, who for the tenth consecutive year, has supported the event for the tremendous contribution they feel it makes to improving health and safety standards.

his year, the UK’s leading forestry and timber harvesting firm Tilhill Forestry Ltd received RoSPA’s highest competitive accolade, the Sir George Earle Trophy, at the awards ceremony in Birmingham. The trophy was presented to George McRobbie, Managing Director of Tilhill Forestry Ltd, by Lord Jordan of Bournville, RoSPA Vice-President and Tom Mullarkey, RoSPA Chief Executive. The firm also won the Forestry Sector Award for the fifth year in a row. George McRobbie said: “Winning this award is a landmark event in the company’s history. It is well known that forestry remains one of the most hazardous work places and this makes this achievement even more impressive. “The safety of our staff, contractors and the public is our top priority. The forestry industry still has an unacceptably poor safety record and we will continue to work with the FISA (Forest Industry Safety Accord) and now RoSPA to improve the situation. We hope our latest awards will help to encourage everyone in our industry to do more to improve.”

RoSPA Gold Award winners in 2015 include: ABB Ltd, Nuvia Limited, Sentinel Housing Association and many more. Industry Sector Award winners in 2015 include: Construction – Commercial: Morrison Utility Services, Education & Training Services: South and City College Birmingham, Forestry: Tilhill Forestry Ltd and Waste Management & Recycling: Studsvik UK Limited.

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RoSPA AWARDS 2015 REVIEW

RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2015

Dr Abdulrahman Jawahery is presented with the Archangel Award by RoSPA President Lord McKenzie of Luton (left) and chief executive Tom Mullarkey (right)

r Abdulrahman Jawahery was nominated in RoSPA’s Guardian Angel Awards scheme for his exceptional commitment to health, safety and sustainability. He was presented with an Archangel Award - the highest accolade in the Guardian Angel Awards – also at the gala dinner in Birmingham. After joining Gulf Petrochemical Industries Co (GPIC) as a chemical engineer, Dr Jawahery worked his way up the ranks to company president and under his leadership, the organisation, based in the Kingdom of Bahrain, has become a beacon for health, safety and sustainability in the Middle East. He is also an MP in Bahrain, where he has helped to push through radical changes in health and safety legislation. Such is his commitment to safety that he is also often found encouraging employees’ children to think about their own safety at company social events and family days. Tom Mullarkey commented: “Dr Jawahery’s passion

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for health, safety and sustainability is truly remarkable. The fact that he has dedicated so much of his working career and selflessly given up his own time to making a difference - not only to his employees’ lives but also that of their families - says a lot about his character and how highly respected he is in his field. “We are truly honoured to present Dr Jawahery with the Archangel Award for his ever adaptable ability as a health and safety communicator, and we are proud to have him as one of our winners.” “While we know there is still much hard work to be done, we are confident that with your help and the support of our members, we will overcome the challenges ahead of us and build a global community where no family need suffer the anguish and heartache of an accident that didn’t need to happen. “Until that day comes, we will be here, fighting for change, fighting for a better, brighter future for all. Fighting for life. We are RoSPA”

Nazan Fennell is presented with her Archangel Award by RoSPA Vice-Pres-

Gary Pyle is presented with his Archangel Award by RoSPA Vice-President

ident Lord Jordan of Bournville (left) and chief executive Tom Mullarkey

Lord Jordan of Bournville (left) and chief executive Tom Mullarkey (right)

(right)

“While we know there is still much hard work to be done, we are confident that with your help and the support of our members, we will overcome the challenges ahead of us and build a global community where no family need suffer the anguish and heartache of an accident that didn’t need to happen. Until that day comes, we will be here, fighting for change, fighting for a better, brighter future for all. Fighting for life. We are RoSPA”

Companies and organisations can enter next year’s RoSPA Awards by completing the following steps: 1. Choose the award you would like to be entered for. 2. Register and pay online. 3. RoSPA will then respond with a login and password for the online RoSPA Award Entry Scheme. 4. Log in and compile your entry. 5. Submit your company or organisation’s entry by the relevant closing date. Registration for the 2016 awards will open in November. For general enquiries and more information, visit the RoSPA Awards home page: www.rospa.com/awards

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RoSPA AWARDS 2015: SENTINEL HOUSING ASSOCIATION

Going for Gold In April this year, for the first time, Sentinel Housing Association received a prestigious RoSPA Gold Award. Alison Patrick, Health & Safety Advisor spoke to HSE International to discuss the organisation’s ongoing commitment to service, quality and safety.

turnover is reinvested back into local neighbourhoods on, for example, ongoing upgrades of existing homes, regeneration of outdated estates, or building more homes; ranging from town centre apartment blocks to rural cottages. A continual challenge for the association is to make sure that every one of their homes is safe, secure and water tight. Homes must also be affordable to run with modern facilities. Alison Patrick, Health & Safety Advisor at Sentinel Housing Association commented, “We’re proud to report that 100% of our customers live in a home that meets the government’s Decent Homes Standard and has a valid gas safety certificate”. Alison Patrick, Health & Safety Advisor

entinel Housing Association (Sentinel) began life as Sentinel Housing Group, a merger between 2 large scale voluntary stock transfers in 2000, and in 2005, the group structure was collapsed and rebranded as Sentinel Housing Association. Based in North Hampshire and as the only locally run, non-profit making housing association, their vision is to make a difference to communities by providing quality homes that people value. Sentinel believe that good quality affordable housing is the bedrock that so many other aspects of life depend upon and are proud to be a leading provider of affordable homes across North Hampshire and beyond. They are a single organisation of 200 staff and as the biggest independent landlord in the area, have around 9,100 homes, 3400 garages and 20 shops. Their homes range from those built as early as 1750 through to those being built in the present day, and last year, Sentinel invested £69.9m into new developments. As a not-for-profit landlord, any surplus from their £65.8m a year

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Leading By Example The association consists of the First Contact team, Services for over 55’s, Neighbourhoods teams, Business Support, a HomeTeam (in-house maintenance provider), Development, Asset Management, IT, Human Resources and Finance, Communications and Governance and Compliance. Sentinel’s vision, strategic direction and values as an organisation are set by a board of 9 non-executive directors, and Mark Perry, Chief Executive, is their board health and safety champion. Alison continued: “Mark is fully committed in leading Sentinel to be a first class organisation in everything that we do. He recognises and is committed to meeting our health and safety legal duties and ensures our business practices are carried out in a way that protects the health and safety of our employees and those affected by our work.” It is the board’s responsibility to lead, direct, control, monitor and challenge all work; from choosing locations to build new homes to investment decisions for improving existing properties. The board approves Sentinel’s health and safety policy which is implemented and monitored through

annual performance reports. A regular update is provided in the Chief Executive’s report at each board meeting and all accidents, serious incidents and near misses are also reported to the Executive Group meeting (monthly) and the Safety Group (quarterly). Various health and safety KPIs (key performance indicators) are reported to the Safety Group as well as the outcomes from internal audit reports. Governance arrangements for health and safety set out clear roles and responsibilities for the board, Chief Executive, Operations Director (and nominated responsible executive for health and safety), managers and their newly created Health and Safety Advisor. The culture at Sentinel encourages all staff to take personal responsibility for health and safety in their work by following company policies and practices. The framework is set out in Sentinel’s health and safety policy and is the definitive document for this area and associated Implementation Plan. The policy is updated annually. By implementing policies and procedures, directors, managers and senior staff communicate health and safety messages and lead by example. Managers communicate their commitment to health and safety by observing working practices and addressing any breaches immediately. Managers also undertake back to the floor visits and workplace inspections, review accident investigations, chair the safety group and monitor performance. Various forums are used to communicate the importance of health and safety via team meetings, one-to-one supervisory sessions and monthly, organisational wide, “stop the office” sessions. These sessions ensure that everyone is aware of how policies affect them and their areas of work individually. Policies are written using Sentinel’s corporate “Tone of the Voice” style, promoting the use of simple language that is concise and easy to understand. Quarterly consultation with the

“We’re proud to report that 100% of our customers live in a home that meets the government’s Decent Homes Standard and has a valid gas safety certificate” employee engagement group enables co-operation from staff to effectively promote health and safety throughout the organisation. Sentinel also seek feedback from the group on the effectiveness of their current arrangements. Alison Patrick, Health & Safety Advisor Role & Responsibilities “As Health & Safety Advisor, my role supports the Head of Governance and Compliance who has overall responsibility for ensuring the organisation is up to date with legislation and ensuring best practice. I have over 20 years of experience, working in organisations ranging from the Leisure industry to corporate blue chip companies. I left an operational management role with a Facilities Management company in 2010 to pursue a career as a health and safety practitioner. I found my skills were easily transferable and continued training to further my knowledge, gaining the NEBOSH general certificate and City & Guilds Level 5 NVQ Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety Practice. “I enjoy working in health and safety and making a positive difference in the way people are protected at work. It’s easy to see legislation as a barrier and I work to interpret this into meaningful information that people can work with, providing a ‘can do’ attitude to health and safety in our organisation. 

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RoSPA AWARDS 2015: SENTINEL HOUSING ASSOCIATION

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“Following accidents and breaches by contractors, I lead investigations and follow up actions to prevent future occurrences. “I report to our Executive Group on a monthly basis, providing information about recent relevant legislation and a review of our H&S KPIs. I keep the group up to date with the progress of our annual health and safety implementation plan and the outcomes of any incident investigations.”

“My role is diverse - one minute I will be in meeting with our operational managers deciding on the strategies needed and the next I’ll be looking at the work our HomeTeam trades do out in people’s homes; working with them to improve our working methods. “We also have specialist staff keeping on top of changes in legislation and best practice, for example, Fire Risk Assessors, Surveyors and Project Managers. “I look at our health and safety training needs and develop the training matrix. I provide advice and guidance on all areas of occupational H&S, landlord H&S compliance, CDM (Construction, Design & Management) guidance and also advise our in-house maintenance team.

“We agreed our implementation plan in April 2014 and set ourselves a target to achieve the RoSPA Silver Award in April 2015. We are delighted to have been awarded a RoSPA Gold Award for the first time”

RoSPA Awards 2015 At this year’s RoSPA Awards, Sentinel Housing Association won the prestigious RoSPA Gold Award. The award is testament to the hard work and dedication from all the teams at Sentinel, who collectively continue to develop safer ways of working. These awards are non-competitive and are based on the organisation’s individual occupational health and safety performance, assessed against the judging criteria. Alison told us more: “We agreed our implementation plan in April 2014 and set ourselves a target to achieve the RoSPA Silver Award in April 2015. We are delighted to have been awarded a RoSPA Gold Award for the first time. Until just over a year ago we didn’t even have a full time Health and Safety Advisor, so this was a wonderful achievement, first time round. “We had to answer 10 key questions about our health and safety practices and submit comprehensive evidence to support the answers in the form of approximately 120 documents. “We met with our department managers to gather the information needed and asked them to feed back any information that would support our entry. We had lots of evidence of good health and safety practices that we then had to analyse, ensuring our evidence answered the questions sufficiently. This included gathering details of accidents as well as those of our contractors on Sentinel sites.” David Rawlins, RoSPA Awards manager, said: “The RoSPA Awards encourage improvement in occupational health and safety management. Organisations that gain recognition for their health and safety management systems, such as Sentinel Housing Association, contribute to raising standards overall and we congratulate them.” Investors in People Gold Standard As well as their RoSPA Gold Award success, Sentinel Housing Association were recognised as being a fantastic employer and were awarded the Investors in People Gold Standard. Formed in 1991, Investors in People was set up by the UK Government to help organisations get the best from their people. Investors in People champion best practice in people management, and organisations that demonstrate the Investors in People Standard achieve the accreditation through a rigorous and objective assessment process. The accreditation is recognised globally as a mark of excellence and is held by over 15,000 organisations across 75 countries. Just 7% of the organisations who hold Investors in People have reached Gold Standard. Alison said: “We’re immensely proud to have achieved the Investors in People Gold Standard. At Sentinel, our people are passionate, dedicated and hard working. They’re the heart of our organisation and truly live our values. 

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RoSPA AWARDS 2015: SENTINEL HOUSING ASSOCIATION

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“To reach Gold Standard, we had to attain a minimum of 126 out of 157 indicators. These covered all areas of the business, from strategy, effective leadership and management to learning and development, staff engagement, reward and recognition and performance measurement. We actually achieved a brilliant total of 138 indicators. “The assessors were particularly impressed with our organisational planning, cross departmental communication and that at Sentinel, we measure how these strategies make a difference. “Our ‘people strategy’ ensures we have brilliant people working together – we put the right people in the right jobs with the right resources, and encourage them to challenge the way we do things as an organisation; to bring about change and improvements and to successfully deliver our corporate plan and values. “Our ‘people vision’ ensures our staff are proud to work for us. We maintain high standards of health and safety by reporting to our executive monthly, and by following up where we can see a need for improvement. Staff are given training and responsibility, empowering them to take ownership of their areas of the business, which keeps them engaged, motivated and provides staff with opportunities to make recommendations for improvements. “We welcome change and creativity. Our leadership team demonstrate passion and commitment, modelling the behaviours we desire for our staff. We commit to involving them through our Employee Engagement Group, ensuring they can voice the things that affect their health and safety.” Health and Safety Health and safety is important across all areas of the business at Sentinel Housing Association, not just in their offices, but also in people’s homes and on construction sites (including working with partners to build new homes). Alison said: “Being able to see the whole picture makes things clearer, so we involve our residents in our business wherever we can. We use their knowledge and experience to make our services better. “We listen to their feedback and where we can, take on board any plans that will improve health and safety. We do this through See3sixty, a group of formally involved residents who help to monitor how we’re doing and keep us on track. They aim to complete 2 service reviews each year and report their findings to our board. This ensures that what we do is what we have promised. “Key to improving health and safety is finding out what our staff think. We have an annual health and safety survey and use the results to decide how to improve our annual implementation plan. We don’t just rely on the survey however; our leadership team go ‘back to the floor’ at least twice a year. They get to work with our trade teams or on the phones in our First Contact Centre and see the day to day challenges our teams face. These visits are effective in ensuring our staff know that their concerns are being heard, and help encourage open and honest communication. “Training staff to work safely is a priority for us and we keep up to date with the latest training available through an e-learning provider. We are able to buy more courses if we need them and tailor the ones we have to suit our working environment. Employees are allocated their training at the

beginning of the year and managers monitor their progress through one to one meetings, ensuring that high priority training is undertaken when needed. The e-learning gives our staff control over their learning as they can take the time they need and fit it around their other commitments. “Understanding the causes of accidents is a priority for any organisation, but where staff are often out of the office, it’s easy for accidents and near misses to get forgotten about or to not be recorded. Just over a year ago, we introduced a new online reporting system; staff can now log in and instantly report an incident straight through to our H&S Advisor and their line manager. Already, this has increased accident reporting and has also allowed us to take action quickly and use the information to prevent further accidents.” Occupational Health, Wellbeing and Environmental Best Practice The main risk at Sentinel is lone working. With approximately 100 staff who are lone workers at any one time, it is crucial that the association has the right systems and controls in place to protect these staff. Sentinel ensures that staff receive training in how to manage violent and aggressive situations and provide lone working alarms

“Being able to see the whole picture makes things clearer, so we involve our residents in our business wherever we can” HSE INTERNATIONAL

RoSPA AWARDS 2015: SENTINEL HOUSING ASSOCIATION

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“Keeping fit and healthy is often difficult when working in an office based job. Our newest venture is SentiCycles; four bikes made available to use for short journeys when employees are out and about during lunchtimes. We also arrange massages, yoga and discounted gym memberships” that can be activated in an emergency. They also use trackers and PDAs (personal digital assistant) to monitor their HomeTeam trades. Alison continued: “Wellbeing is very important to us and we encourage our workers to utilise the many benefits that are made available to them. A recent success has been the introduction of a corporate discount scheme, enabling staff to make their money go further. We actively promote Health and Safety Week in June, offering health checks and encouraging our workforce to make healthy lifestyle changes. “We provide free tea and coffee and encourage staff to take a proper lunch break in our newly refurbished diner. We also provide healthy fruit that people can eat whilst they work. “Keeping fit and healthy is often difficult when working in an office based job. Our newest venture is SentiCycles; four bikes made available to use for short journeys when employees are out and about during lunchtimes. We also arrange massages, yoga and discounted gym memberships. Last year, Sentinel’s offices were refurbished and new, more efficient computers with height adjustable screens were installed as well as improved office lighting and ventilation. Employees were also encouraged to road test office furniture and their feedback was used to inform final choices. Overall, these changes have made Sentinel’s offices a much more pleasant and healthier environment to work in. Supplier and Subcontractor Standards Sentinel use a waste disposal company when refurbishing empty homes and currently, approximately half of refurbishment waste is recycled. Sometimes, unwanted furniture is left in their empty properties and Sentinel have joined forces with Waste It, a company that recycles white goods. Any other usable furniture is given a new lease of life by local furniture projects or resold through charity shops. Alison commented: “Our tender process ensures that we select contactors whose safety record has been verified by us. Our main contractors are registered with Constructionline and we have recently made the decision to have all of our smaller contractors accredited through CHAS.

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RoSPA AWARDS 2015: SENTINEL HOUSING ASSOCIATION

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“We look for contractors who have a local supply chain where possible and employ local people. “Monthly meetings and site audits ensure that we keep health and safety communication going throughout a project. Our contractors provide us with weekly audits and we make sure to carry out our own audits as well. “Our consultants and contractors help us keep on top of our responsibilities and provide training and briefings such as recent updates on CDM regulations and asbestos awareness.” Sentinel are always looking to use modern technology and work with suppliers to provide better systems such as newer CO2 detectors and smoke detectors. The UK Government has set the world’s first legally binding carbon targets to reduce carbon emissions by 80% (of 1990 levels) by 2050. The roadmap for this includes a reduction of 35% by 2020. By installing ASHP (air source heat pumps), Sentinel are proactively reducing carbon emissions as well as making great savings for their residents. ASHP will improve the environmental performance of Sentinel properties and increase SAP (energy efficiency) scoring, taking scorings of under 50 to above 60 in most cases; a reduction of a home’s carbon footprint and impact on climate change. Sentinel has recently published their first Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategy, which promises to target and improve their lowest SAP properties and have committed to addressing fuel poverty. “Our board has given us approval this year, to upgrade 200 heating systems that were due for replacement in the 5 year plan with air source heat pumps (ASHPs), costing around £1.8m. Our calculations show ASHP cost around £900 less a year to run for the resident, and for those that can’t currently afford to heat their home, means they’ll be able to keep their home warm”, Alison continued. Corporate Social Responsibility Sentinel’s CSR strategy has several commitments which have been developed to reflect their corporate objectives. Sentinel offer support and training to help their customers and local people get into work and look to employ local people where possible. The association recognises that being in work is likely to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals and families, increase confidence, generate a sense of belonging and promote financial independence. For these reasons they want to invest and support their customers through the provision of high quality training and employment opportunities. Alison continued: “We do this through working closely with our partners to ensure training and employment opportunities are realistic, sustainable and meet local needs. This includes working with schools, JobCentre Plus, local businesses, development contractors and suppliers to support the creation of employment and training opportunities for our customers. “We work with suppliers, contractors and partners to reduce our carbon footprint, source our products ethically and promote sustainability. “We work to maximise our positive environmental impacts by developing new homes built to a minimum level B energy rating (81 SAP rating). We aim to achieve this through a

“We work to maximise our positive environmental impacts by developing new homes built to a minimum level B energy rating (81 SAP rating). We aim to achieve this through a fabric first approach in the building” fabric first approach in the building. We also recycle over 90% of our planned maintenance waste and will look to adopt fuel efficiency and carbon reduction initiatives in our day-to-day work. This will be achieved by controlling the energy costs in our offices and reviewing our utility contracts to ensure value for money. Our new office has been fitted with energy efficient lighting and our introduction of thin client computers use 80% less energy. All our trade vehicles are fitted with trackers to monitor and maximise fuel consumption. Our aim is to have no homes with an energy rating of F or lower (SAP below 40) and target those with an energy rating of E (SAP below 55) to make them warmer and more affordable to live in. “We engage with local communities to try and make them better places for everyone to live.” Sentinel actively encourages staff to engage with the communities where they work. They support local school projects and will support employees by allowing them one day a year to help out at a local charity or participate in a local project. They also support their staff in raising money for charity by offering match funding to staff’s nominated charity. Each year, Sentinel also nominate a local charity to fundraise for and last year set a target to raise £5k for Naomi House. They surpassed this figure and raised a staggering £20k. This year their charity was Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, with a fundraising target of £5k. “We work to improve the health and wellbeing of our employees and customers. We recognise that health, wellbeing and sport are crucial to supporting our staff and communities. It is our aim to work with one local school to trial a healthy eating project in 2015, working alongside local

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RoSPA AWARDS 2015: SENTINEL HOUSING ASSOCIATION

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suppliers for support. We’re keen to attract local sponsorship to fund small local sport teams that hope to organise events to encourage people to get active”, Alison added. Sentinel Housing Association is passionate about the health and wellbeing of their staff and supports a range of health and wellbeing offers and programmes including: • • • • • • • •

Personal development allowance Flexible working Health checks Employee assistance programme Enhanced maternity pay Promoting active lifestyles Reduced gym rates Perks, employee engagement and rewards

Promoting a safe working environment for staff is a key priority and Sentinel aims to continue to encourage and support this principle. Alison commented: “This year we developed a safety training matrix which allows us to not only meet our regulatory requirements, but shows our staff that their safety and wellbeing at work is a key priority for us. As an ethical employer, we choose to pay the living wage. Paying the living wage is good for business, good for the individual and good for society.” As a leading developer in North Hampshire, Sentinel are tackling the shortage of affordable housing with ambitious plans to provide 350 new homes every year. With this plan they must think about the impact on their surroundings. In line with the National Planning Policy Framework, Sentinel encourages: • The effective use of previously developed land • New homes in locations accessible to town centres, employment opportunities, schools, public transport, etc • Meeting the need for private and affordable homes • High quality designs and layout • Energy efficiency • The conservation of heritage assets appropriate to their significance

“Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at Sentinel. Our current project at Dextra Court in Basingstoke involves turning disused office space into 56 modern apartments. “Rethinking the way we generate energy in our homes helps our customers save money on fuel bills and cuts the carbon footprint. Air source heat pumps, solar thermal 

Alison continued: “While construction work is ongoing, we make sure that the community are involved. Recently, pupils at Marnel School, Popley were treated to a site safety master class thanks to our contractor Hill, who outlined the importance of site safety to a captivated audience of 320 pupils at their afternoon assembly. “It is particularly important to us that young people understand the risks of playing around construction sites and this sort of community engagement is an important part of the work we do. “More recently, we helped out Aster Communities with their Think Safe event for local school children in Andover. The aim of the event was to help the children learn how to keep themselves and others safe from the dangers of incidents such as cyberbullying, counterfeit goods and domestic violence. In a practical session called Hazard Alley, the children learnt how to keep safe while playing outside and how their behaviour may affect others living in their neighbourhood.

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RoSPA AWARDS 2015: SENTINEL HOUSING ASSOCIATION

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heating systems and micro combined heat and power boilers help customers save up to 40% on fuel bills. “We are always looking for ways to get involved in our local community and providing safety training and facilities is just one of the ways that we offer help. We have provided free CSCS (Construction Skills Certification Scheme) training for our customers, have provided advice on tackling antisocial behaviour and have shared our development site with the Police for dog handling training.” Environmental Technologies Sentinel Housing Association has fitted nearly 400 homes with photovoltaic systems to help customers reduce their energy bills and protect the environment. The association is due to invest £1.8m to replace old electric storage heaters and solid fuel systems with air source heat pumps in an additional 200 homes. This renewable technology will help reduce carbon emissions and more importantly will cut customer fuel bills by up to £900 a year. “We are always willing to take on new initiatives and we do this on a large scale for the size of our organisation. We have brought forward solid fuel replacements that were due over the next five years to invest in this financial year. There is no monetary benefit to us in doing this but it’s all about looking after our residents and helping them to reduce their fuel bills, which is something not every housing association does”, Alison added. Careers at Sentinel Housing Association As a leading employer in North Hampshire, Sentinel often have career opportunities available within various areas of their business. Alison continued: “Our people are our most important asset and as an “Investor in People” employer we want to continue to support and develop them. In 2014 we launched our internal talent management strategy that sets out how we’ll recruit, develop and invest in our people to give them the right skills, knowledge and behaviours to lead and manage our organisation. We value continuous development and encourage staff to seek out development opportunities, whether these are informal, on the job training, coaching or attending formal training events. We also restructured our teams to provide more opportunity for career progression. All staff vacancies are advertised internally and staff are encouraged to apply. “We sponsor staff to carry out professional development where it’s appropriate for the business. We grant part of their time off as paid so staff can attend college, as well as time off for revision and exams that we also pay for. So far, this financial year, employees have attended 679 training days at a cost of £650 per employee. We’ll continue to provide training and development opportunities for staff and encourage internal promotions. We’ll fund our training budget at the rate of 2% of our salary budget. “Since our apprenticeship programme started, we’ve helped 21 young people to take the first steps onto their career ladder and to gain a nationally recognised qualification. Fees are also paid for memberships of professional bodies and we offer a £100 a year personal development allowance towards personal development training or hobbies undertaken in employee’s own time. “STEP is our Support Towards Employment Programme,

helping our customers find paid employment and offering volunteering opportunities with skills training and mentoring to build confidence. Since we launched the project in 2013 we’ve supported over 200 people through the programme. We’ve helped 46 into work, 37 into training and volunteering and 19 have achieved a formal qualification. Last year alone, we added a value of at least £600k to the wider community through social capital. “We’ve also joined forces with Basingstoke Skills Zone to offer work placements to local people in need of some extra work experience. Volunteering is a fantastic opportunity for everyone, regardless of age and background, to improve their skills, gain and share experience and share talents to improve their own and other’s lives. Alison concluded: “For the team at Sentinel, it’s about more than just bricks and mortar – it’s about people, communities and opportunities.”

For more information, please visit: www.sentinelha.org.uk

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RoSPA AWARDS 2015: TILHILL FORESTRY LTD

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Growing Safety in the Forest As winners of RoSPA‘s coveted Sir George Earle Trophy 2015, Tilhill Forestry Ltd is the UK’s leading forestry and timber harvesting company with a primary role in biomass supply to the UK’s renewable energy projects. HSE International spoke to George McRobbie, Managing Director and Chris Pike, Head of Safety & Assurance about their awards success.

timber prices we can for our customers in order to help maximise their property’s potential. A well-managed forest can be an asset which grows in value as it enhances the environment, and we manage more woodland for woodland owners than anyone else in the UK. “The Tilhill Forestry philosophy is to be professional, versatile, competitive and reliable. To support these principles, we are fully ISO accredited with ISO 9001:2008 (Quality Management), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) and OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems).”

T George McRobbie, Managing Director

ounded by Archie Aitkins in 1948, Tilhill Forestry Ltd was originally established as a forest nursery and management company. As Archie’s vision grew, the business expanded across the UK, moving into forestry contracting. Today, Tilhill Forestry Ltd is a national company with a turnover in excess of £100 million, operating from a network of offices throughout Great Britain. George McRobbie, Managing Director commented: “Tilhill’s main activities are to undertake all aspects of woodland management. This includes securing the best

ilhill Forestry prides itself on the quality of its safety management processes and incident records. Their commitment to exceptionally high levels of health and safety management has been regularly recognised at the annual RoSPA Awards. Tilhill Forestry has entered the RoSPA awards for ten consecutive years. During the first five of those years, the company achieved two Gold Awards, one Gold Medal and two Highly Commended in the Forestry Sector. Chris Pike, Head of Safety & Assurance for Tilhill Forestry commented: “We are delighted to have had such consistent RoSPA Award success. We have also been judged as winners of the Forestry Sector for the last five years. This has been a great achievement in itself, but we have always wondered how we would benchmark against the winners in other sectors such as Construction or Petrochemical. We were absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for the final of 

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RoSPA AWARDS 2015: TILHILL FORESTRY LTD

the Sir George Earle Trophy at the 2015 RoSPA Awards. Forestry is a high hazard sector and has relatively little resource to tackle this issue compared with other industries. “To be announced as this year’s winners of the Sir George Earle Trophy is something of which we are all immensely proud. We have been working extremely hard to improve our own safety as well as influencing the rest of the industry. Being recognised for this, while the industry itself lags far behind others in fatal accident rates, is truly humbling. We also recognise that although the Sir George Earle Trophy is recognition for what we have achieved so far, working to improve our safety performance will never finish.” In 2009, Tilhill Forestry recognised that they needed to make a determined effort to further improve health and safety performance. George McRobbie explained the company’s safety philosophy and programme: “In July 2009, we launched our Insist On Safety programme and took a roadshow across the whole country over 21 dates. Two directors attended each event to demonstrate clear Board commitment; our managers needed to know that their bosses were committed and would

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support them if difficult decisions about health and safety had to be made. “The 21 events included all of our staff at Tilhill as well as over 1000 contractors. Including our contractors in this programme has been an important factor as they are carrying out works for us and therefore face the risks in Forestry every day.” Insist On Safety has been based on: • Board level commitment. This has been a deep personal commitment from each director, not just a nice soundbite. • Getting back to talking and listening to operators on site about safety. Not being constrained by forms, but looking with open eyes at the work on site. We praise safe behaviours and discuss unsafe practices, but remain careful not to blame, shout or point a finger. • Involving operators in Peer Group Reviews after near miss events or during investigations into near miss trends. In other words, handing the control for the rules to those who understand the risks best. • Actively encouraging ‘near miss’ reporting. Near miss reports are like Police intelligence - they help us to see where the next accident may occur. “Between January 2010 and January 2014 we achieved a 68% reduction in our Lost Time Accident Rate. This has been the success of Insist On Safety. In simple terms, we have made it OK to talk about safety.” Chris Pike continued: “The Directors and Senior Managers at Tilhill Forestry are committed to making our sites safe to work on. They demonstrate this very clearly in both the policies that are set within the company and their actions. The company Health and Safety Policy is reviewed annually at the Management Review meeting which is chaired by George McRobbie, and from this meeting the annual Safety and Assurance Action Plan is devised. It is split into sections to support the statements made in our Health and Safety, Environmental and Quality Policies. This allows employees and other stakeholders to see how we are implementing and improving our policy statements. “All meetings within Tilhill commence with Health and Safety, including board meetings and company conferences. This practice is at the insistence of the Board of Directors and is repeated throughout the company at all levels.”

contractors to adhere to safety practices across our industry, bringing consistency to their work. “It was late 2011 when HSE were in a position to help create such a group. This had been motivated by the recognition of the extent of the Forest Industry fatal accident rate, once extracted from the Agricultural figures. In the five years up to March 2012, there was an average of 10.4 fatalities per 100,000 workers. This is more than three times the fatality rate for the construction industry. “We assisted with HSE in organising the Forest Industry Safety Summit in 2012 and contributed with presentations on the day. From this summit, the Forest Industry Safety Accord (FISA) emerged.” Tilhill Forestry now has a place on the main FISA steering committee, as well as representation in most of their working groups. 

n 2008, Tilhill Forestry discussed how introducing new safety driven requirements for their contractors would be easier to enforce if all forestry companies were doing the same. Chris Pike played an integral role in the forming of the Forest Industry Safety Accord (FISA), which demonstrates the commitment that organisations (and the Forestry sector as a whole) can make to raise the standard of safety in their place of work. Chris explained: “Back in 2008, a meeting was held between HSE, the Forestry Commission and Tilhill Forestry to discuss how we could improve safety in the industry. At that meeting, the creation of an industry group was discussed. We felt that a steering group of this nature would also make it easier for

Chris Pike, Head of Safety & Assurance

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RoSPA AWARDS 2015: TILHILL FORESTRY LTD

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ilhill Forestry covers the entire UK with its operations. With offices located from Exeter to Inverness, the need for effective communication is vital. The primary form of communication is via a monthly Safety & Assurance Bulletin that is briefed out to all employees. Contractors are briefed by managers while out on site and handed hard copies, and those that miss a briefing have the bulletin sent to them either by email or post. Staff and contractors must sign a dedicated back page of the bulletin to say they have been briefed. Comments for safety improvement are encouraged and a dedicated space is left on this page for this purpose. The Safety & Assurance Bulletin content includes details of accidents and near misses, and good practice is also shared. The content of the bulletin is drawn from the whole business and relevant news from other companies which is then distributed throughout the whole company. This allows for lessons and good practice to be shared across all business streams. A major part of the annual communication plan is Insist On Safety Week. Chris Pike told us more: “During this week we hold five regional safety stand down days. These days cover a variety of topics from a First Aid refresher to Electrical power line safety on site. The topics are covered on stands that the attendees work around in groups. The stands are manned by a mixture of external specialists, employees and contractors, and a director attends every event. The attendees are a mix of employees including administration, office staff and contractors. The events mix up those people working on the Forestry and Harvesting sides of the business and allow for some valuable conversation about how safety within their own work stream can impact on the safety in other areas of the business. “We are starting to see safety become an integral part of the lives of our staff. Last year, one of Tilhill Forestry’s Regional Harvesting Managers took up his position of Chairman for the Wales Young Farmers. His theme for the year as Chairman is ’Health and Safety in the Workplace and at Home‘. After attending the RoSPA Awards in 2014, he has nominated RoSPA as the chosen charity for the year.” Tilhill Forestry have an integrated Assurance Management System that has been accredited to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. George McRobbie continued: “At Tilhill Forestry, we are very focussed on our Safety and Assurance System, which in turn, benefits our customers. “We not only have an outstanding safety culture throughout the company, but also consider that our integrated Assurance Management system brings a reduction in paperwork; freeing up time for our forestry and harvesting managers to focus on customer requirements. “We also consider that the environment is at the core of our business and that it is important to take account of the environmental impact in all that we do. “Tilhill Forestry takes full responsibility for consultancy, contracting and completing all ecological works to high standards. Our skills and resources enable us to provide a single source service, enabling us to survey, plan, design, build, mitigate and monitor projects. “We are unique in that we employ in-house ecologists with experience in carrying out Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), as well as holding a range of licences for

protected species work. “We care that our customers can gain the best possible return from the timber from their woodlands and have run our own forest certification scheme (UKWAS) since 1999 to support this. “Lead by a dedicated Woodland Certification & Assurance Manager, we have a team of experienced forest managers across the country who help woodland owners maintain compliance to the UKWAS standards, ensuring access to timber markets and the price premium often paid for certified timber. “Our audit team also adds value to the woodlands within our scheme by advising owners on how to continually improve the management of their forests and by providing advice on changes to legislation, funding streams and best practice. “We bring all this knowledge and expertise with us to our customer’s forests and woodlands.” Chris Pike concluded, “Together, we aim to make the forest industry a safer place to work.”

For more information, please visit: www.tilhill.com

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RoSPA AWARDS 2015: NUVIA LIMITED

“The Health & Safety of our employees, contractors and the public is fundamental to the success of Nuvia Limited”

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World – Class Hazardous Environment Management Tracing its roots back to the start of the UK nuclear programme, Nuvia specialises in providing support across the whole life cycle of nuclear facilities; focusing primarily on the supply of engineering expertise, products and services to the nuclear industry and working on most UK nuclear sites.

uvia Ltd is part of the International Nuvia Group owned by Soletanche Freyssinet, which is part of the Vinci Group, the largest construction and concession company in the world. With over 1,000 staff in the UK and over 1,200 in France and elsewhere in the Group, Nuvia covers a wide range of technical disciplines, from consultancy and engineering design through to operations and decommissioning. The oil and gas industry is challenged with a variety of issues including dealing with instrumentation used in nuclear techniques and the problems associated with naturally occurring radioactive material (or NORM) during drilling operations; this material is extracted from the Earth’s crust, being deposited on a variety of field equipment. In particular, the tubulars used in drilling can become encrusted with radioactive scale, presenting health and safety concerns for the operational staff who can potentially be exposed to radiation and environmental challenges in managing the material in a sustainable and legally-compliant manner. The Oil and Gas sector is Nuvia’s second largest market where they focus on radiation issues with a longer term interest in the oilfield decommissioning market. Nuvia provides expertise in managing issues with ionizing radiation for oil and gas as well as other mineral extraction industries. They have implemented

NORM projects at locations including Canada, Libya, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Syria, and provide training in NORM management for many UK and overseas nationals. From its Radiation Protection Office in Aberdeen, Nuvia provides advice and regulatory support to operators and contractors in the oil and gas sector. When dealing with radioactive materials, a Radiation Protection Advisor (RPA) is required. If an in-house specialist isn’t available, Nuvia can provide this service on a contract basis. To deal with the practical issues of managing NORM contamination, Nuvia operates two NORM Management Facilities. The first is based in Dorset, serving the Southern North Sea; this facility has been operating for over 10 years and was recently relocated to a new purposebuilt premises just outside Dorchester. The second, NS NORM, is based at the Stoneyhill Environmental Park near Aberdeen, and is a joint venture with SITA UK which operates the adjacent waste disposal site; this site is unique in Scotland, holding a permit to dispose of the NORM waste once NS NORM has decontaminated the components using a range of techniques including high pressure water jetting. The work at both sites, in itself, is a significant health, safety and environmental challenge and Nuvia has applied its nuclear expertise to provide a safe, efficient and environmentally sound approach to dealing with NORM.

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RoSPA AWARDS 2015: NUVIA LIMITED

“Our goals are to maintain our excellent safety record, reduce our environmental impacts, help our people develop and achieve greater job satisfaction and support for the communities we live and work amongst”

Nuvia has also applied this expertise overseas where NORM issues are becoming increasingly apparent as the industry matures. As International Business Manager, Ron Smith holds two key roles; covering the development and delivery of Nuvia’s capabilities across its international markets and the overall development of Nuvia’s oil and gas business. This is done in collaboration with colleagues in Nuvia’s sister companies around the world. Ron holds over thirty years of experience working in the nuclear industry and a similar involvement in oil and gas. “Given the hazardous nature of our NORM services, I have passed the Water Jetting Association Mandatory Safety Awareness Course and successfully achieved the IOSH Managing Safely qualification. I have a science and engineering background including a PhD from Durham University and I’m a Fellow of the British Institute of NonDestructive Testing,” Ron explained. He continued: “The health & safety of our employees, contractors and the public is fundamental to the success of Nuvia Limited. The company recognises its moral and legal duty to protect the health and safety of its employees during the course of their employment; to protect employees of other employers, including clients and contractors; and to protect members of the public who may be affected by our work activities.” In recognising these responsibilities, Nuvia’s Health & Safety Policy is to take all practicable measures to prevent the injury and ill health of its employees and others who

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may be involved in or affected by its work activities. The company implements and maintains a Health & Safety Management System that complies with OHSAS 18001:2007 and is certified by LRQA. Nuvia has invested in the creation of a strong proactive safety culture, characterised by a commitment to workforce involvement, committed leadership and the operation of a just culture. Ron continued: “Since we began our safety culture programme in 2006, our lost time and minor injury incidence rates have fallen steadily and, at the time of going to press, we have worked for over two and a half years (6.5 million hours) without a RIDDOR-reportable event and for eleven months (1.5 million hours) without a lost time incident of any sort.” Nearly all of Nuvia’s activities, from engineering design through to operations and decommissioning, have some impact on the environment and one of their key drivers is to minimise any adverse effects that their work has. As a basis for ensuring they can do this, Nuvia’s Environmental Management System is accredited to ISO 14001:2004 and a programme is being developed to ensure compliance with the newly published 14001:2015 standard. In the NORM area, Nuvia employ current best practice to minimise the waste they produce and ensure equipment used is capable of re-use or recycling. “We are continually looking to improve our performance in this area through improved working practices (assisted by the design of our facilities as typified by our recent relocation project) and the

implementation of new technology. We have invested a considerable amount of research and development in assessing technologies for the treatment of NORM contaminated sludges (a current industry problem) and are collaborating with a number of companies and universities on implementation of new techniques,” Ron added. Awards and Accreditations In 2014 Nuvia secured the competitive RoSPA Engineering Service Sector Award and this year achieved the prestigious RoSPA Order of Distinction, marking 18 consecutive years of health and safety performance at the RoSPA Gold Award standard. Ron said, “We believe winning the award in our field is a fantastic achievement which demonstrates the Company’s position as a leader in its health and safety practices.” Nuvia also scooped the top prize for Excellence in Health and Safety at Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster (BECBC) Business Awards 2014. Nuvia is a member of a number of industrial associations including the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) and EEGR (East of England Energy Group). Through its joint venture NS NORM, it is also a member of Oil & Gas UK and North Sea Decom. Wherever possible the company actively participates in the activities of these bodies to promote best practice and develop their profile in the respective market places. To support delivery of their work, a comprehensive range of systems, procedures and practices, accredited to ISO9001, have been developed at Nuvia, incorporating lessons learnt from project delivery and best practice both internally and from wider industry.

Vision “Our vision is to be the leading specialist in our markets, providing an integrated solution to our clients through nuclear services, risk management and Engineer, Procure, Construct (EPC) contracting. “We aim to continually improve as a performancedriven company, committed to the development of our people within a culture of safety, innovation and excellence. “By leading the way in evolving markets, we will pursue our international growth, combining our global competence with our local networks to further enhance our value to our clients. “Our goals are to maintain our excellent safety record, reduce our environmental impacts, help our people develop and achieve greater job satisfaction and support for the communities we live and work amongst. “We will continue to work hard to ensure all staff have the skills and knowledge needed to do their jobs safely and effectively, both now and into the future. “We aim to do this by complying with our Quality and SHE management systems, striving for safe delivery to time and to budget, incorporating sustainable approaches into our designs and procuring equipment and materials in ways that reduce impacts on the planet and by taking advantage of developing technologies. “Achieving these goals will give us and our people a secure future, will offer the certainty our clients need and provide opportunity to our communities for years to come.” For more information, please visit: www.nuvia.co.uk

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BSIF

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BSIF

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OIL & GAS: FQM LTD

Performance Assurance FQM Ltd is a Health, Safety, Environment and Quality consultancy, coaching and training organisation predominantly working in the Oil & Gas and supporting industries. HSE International spoke to Chris Docherty, Managing Director and Dean Wiseman, Technical Director to discuss how their approach challenges convention in many areas and brings a refreshing perspective.

QM was formed in the late 90s as part of a larger consultancy organisation, Facilitators International. The organisation provides training and management systems development and implementation to the following industry sectors: Oil & Gas, Marine, Engineering, Manufacturing, Service Industry, Aviation, 3rd Sector/ Charities, Construction, Legal, Logistics and Energy. FQM is a member of CQI (Chartered Quality Institute), SPE (the Society of Petroleum Engineers), Energy Institute, Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors, SCDI and Scottish Chamber of Commerce, and is also ISO

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9001 accredited with certification from global certification bodies. The majority of FQMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business comes from UK based clients. However, over the years they have worked internationally in UAE, Germany, France, Ireland, Norway and the Netherlands. FQMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s services are focused on taking client capabilities from an initial introduction to QHSE, through the rigours of compliance and on to excellence in performance. This can often begin with awareness training or gap analysis of client systems, working hand in hand to develop requirements in areas of greatest risk to client operations, to ensure compliance with legislation. Once this is achieved, through coaching and mentoring, FQM help clients develop organisational resilience, from the shop floor to the board room. At a senior level, Managing Director Chris Docherty has 25 years international experience of contracts and quality management in Electronics Engineering, and Technical Director, Dean Wiseman brings 34 years of Operations and HSE experience within the Oil and Gas industry, with a strong focus on Human Factors and Organisational Behaviours. Chris has responsibility for Business Development, Sales and Marketing, Finance, Accounts and staff development, with support from administration staff. Dean works closely with Chris on Business Strategy and development, as well as a focusing on operations, product development and market analysis. Dean is also responsible for monitoring legislative change and impact on markets. In order to keep abreast of client and industry

requirements and expectations, both Chris and Dean continue to spend time and effort directly client facing and supporting their teams of Associates. The approach at FQM is ‘fit for purpose’, as they believe each client has differing needs, expectations and objectives. The FQM team is available to individually tailor a client’s HSEQ needs to provide a specific solution. Dean continued: “Hazard Awareness is very important and has its place. However, incident analysis suggests that hand injuries, for example, don’t occur because the victim ‘didn’t know it would hurt’. It was not the absence of this knowledge that caused the accident to happen! “Studying the anatomy of such accidents has led to a better understanding of ‘HOW’ they occur rather than ‘WHY?’. Under the heading ‘Situational Awareness’, we have developed a training model where a person is taught to recognise the various factors that are required to occur simultaneously, in order for an incident to happen (known as ‘influencing factors’). Once people understand how this works, they are increasingly able to recognise the situation beforehand and can take relevant steps to prevent it from happening in the first place. This training is very effective from the perspective of the individual who is ‘in harm’s way’ and is subject to what we call ‘Active Failure’. “The same training can also be applied to several other roles that are distanced from the ‘harm event’ but require a change of perspective. These roles include engineering and support staff, senior management, planners, accountants, board members etc. The activities, decisions and behaviours of people in these roles often have little opportunity to directly influence ‘Active Failure’ as described above. However, they often have, though indirect, a very real influence on potential harmful events. Sometimes, the result of this influence might occur a long way in future and so is referred to as ‘Latent Failure’. The causal and contributory factors are far less obvious, often hidden from view but can have a significant impact. Training for these roles is similar to training for the staff on the shop floor but with differences in perspective, motivators, objectives, performance measures, distractions and other ‘influencing factors’. These factors may be very different from one role to another, however the mechanisms which determine how

they influence behaviour are closely related. This type of training addresses human contribution to Major Accident Hazards.” In choosing their strategic business partners, FQM have carefully considered organisations with similar or complimentary ethics, values and social responsibilities. Chris commented: “We currently have a strategic partnership in product development initiatives and are in discussion with two other companies to partner with for both local and international business. Rather than accreditations, we have focused more on capabilities and credibility. However, we do undertake the necessary due diligence before working together.” Chris concluded: “As a responsible organisation, we operate a policy to ensure all efforts are in place to minimise our carbon footprint. We have developed a number of client programmes to optimise training delivery in order to reduce travel and energy consumption. One aspect of our business management system product assists clients in the implementation of Environmental Management systems and of course our Human Factors and behaviour products can be and are legitimately applied to environmental behaviours.”

For more information, please visit: www.fqmltd.com

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OIL & GAS: DIALIGHT PLC

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Industrial Lighting Specialists Dialight plc is a British-based electronics business that specialises in light-emitting diode (LED) lighting for hazardous locations. Omar Lopez, Director of HS&E spoke to HSE International about their approach to health, safety and sustainability as a world leader in applied LED technology.

he Dialight Group is headquartered in Newmarket (UK) with manufacturing facilities in Brazil, Denmark, Malaysia, Mexico, the USA and the UK. Further offices are located in Australia, Germany, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. As a global operation, Dialight define the current state of LED lighting technology with continuous innovations in light output, efficacy and reliability. Having specialised in LED technology for 40 years, the reliability of their products is verified by millions of their units being installed in various demanding applications. Working predominantly in hazardous industries such as oil and gas, pharmaceutical, chemical, power generation, water and sewage and food and beverage, Dialight’s complete line of high-specification lighting fixtures are specifically designed for industrial, commercial, hazardous location, transportation & public infrastructure applications. The business also covers markets such as manufacturing, warehousing, and cold storage. Dialight’s success is directly related to an ongoing commitment to advancing solid-state lighting products that vastly reduce maintenance, improve safety, ease disposal, and are more environmentally friendly; thereby helping to reduce CO2 emissions - the dominant Greenhouse gas contributor to global warming. With a high-specification range of products, Dialight is uniquely positioned for a number of long-term global growth trends, many of which are driven by government regulations and environmental initiatives. These include the current global infrastructure build-out, and the need for improvements to the efficiency, reliability and productivity of the electrical grid.

Omar Lopez, Director of HS&E Role and Responsibilities “As Director of HS&E, I have developed and implement guidelines and standards for achieving a seamless safety culture across our worldwide operations. I review and analyse safety issues and trends, and am responsible for delivering general industry training programs, investigating all recordable incidents, developing and implementing behaviour-based safety culture, and supporting environmental management systems. I oversee the day-to-day continuous improvement of environmental health and safety programs implementation on sites in 5 different countries. “I have developed and maintained a strategic framework for our environmental, health and safety programs, including fundamental accountabilities, short-term goals and objectives, medium-term strategic initiatives, and long-term mission and vision. “I provide advice and solutions to multiple-facility personnel to maintain a world-class workplace in a fast paced environment, and am responsible for the development and implementation of ISO 14001 & OHSAS 18001 across the organisation. “I also hold several training and certification qualifications from the American Society of Safety Engineers, such as: Global Safety Management, Corporate Safety Management, Executive Safety Management and OSHA 30 hour.”

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OIL & GAS: DIALIGHT PLC

G loba l certi f icatio n: Newmarket ( U K ) & Co p e nhage n Facil it y : IS O 9001, IS O 14001 R ox boro Facil it y ( U S ) : IS O 9001, IS O 14001 & O H S A S 18001 Ense nada Facil it y ( M e x ico ) : IS O 9001, IS O 14001 & O H S A S 18001 Health and Safety First Dialight is committed to providing a safe working environment for all their employees across all locations and activities; from production teams to lone working sales force team members. The Group acknowledges their responsibility for health and safety and continually acts to identify opportunities for improvement, maintain regulatory compliance, and ensure safe environments for employees and visitors to their buildings alike, through delegated actions by senior management at each location. Health and safety is a standing item on the board meeting agenda and includes information collated from senior management reports, providing the board with full visibility of any major safety concerns and incidents within the business. Dialight actively encourages employees to play their part in ensuring the safety of themselves and others. This is achieved by an in-depth induction for all new employees and encouraging them to report all incidents, accidents and near miss events, no matter how minor, and to take part in health and safety related training as required by particular roles. Omar continued: “Our business management systems are certified to ISO 9001: 2008 for quality, TS 16949: 2009 for automotive manufacture (Newmarket only), ISO 14001: 2004 for environmental management (Newmarket and Copenhagen) and there are plans to implement OHSAS 18001: 2007 for health and safety in Newmarket. The Newmarket site is approved for the manufacture of hazardous area products in accordance with the ATEX Directive and IECEx scheme rules and has a Quality Assurance Notification (number 5801) issued by a Notified Body (Baseefa). The business management system for the manufacture of equipment intended for use in potentially explosive areas is audited every 18 months by Baseefa in accordance with the requirements of ISO/ IEC 800-79-34: 2011. “We are also qualified with Achilles FPAL and Achilles JQS as suppliers of equipment for the oil and gas industry.” In partnering with suppliers, consultants and subcontractors, Dialight generally looks for certification to ISO 9001: 2008 as a minimum and would look with preference on potential suppliers who are ISO 14001: 2004 approved for environmental management and OHSAS 18001: 2007 approved for health and safety management.

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Sustainable Solutions Dialight manufactures LED lighting luminaires that drastically reduce energy consumption; reducing CO2 emissions while providing superior lighting to help companies achieve their sustainability goals and improve health and safety. They have helped companies such as Koehler paper group, RAF Odiham and Rexam reduce their energy consumption by over 60%. “Our values include sustainability and we pride ourselves on manufacturing LED products that reduce energy consumption, lower Greenhouse gas emissions and eliminate the need for mercury in lighting technology,” Omar continued. As well as significantly reducing energy use and CO2 emissions, Dialight offers up to 10 year warranties on their LED luminaires which demonstrate the quality of their industry leading products. Several companies have achieved improved safety when Dialight’s lights have been installed, simply because the lighting quality helps the visibility for workers. Their lights also operate at low temperatures, thus reducing the risk of injury from contact with the luminaires. LED luminaires are certified for hazardous industries, for use in high risk areas where potentially explosive gases and dusts may exist, which enables organisations to provide a safe working environment with safe lighting equipment. The luminaires are also vibration resistant and mercury free which makes them extremely durable and safe for the industries they cover. Future prospects Dialight undertake regular management reviews of business management systems and the outputs of this are used to drive operational activities in the business. For example, Dialight are currently working towards accreditation to the new ISO standards for their European sites. Omar concluded: “Our health and safety goal for the next 12 months is to reduce the number of incidents by 50%. We will also continue to maintain our current ISO certifications and work towards achieving ISO 14001 across our other global facilities.” For more information, please visit: www.uk.dialight.com

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