Best health and safety initiative

Winner

The Kier Group is taking a lead on health and safety on all fronts, with objectives for its housebuilding arm Bellwinch Homes that include ensuring all staff at all levels obtain the five-day CITB safety training course, increasing safety awareness among local schoolchildren, and more proactive ways of getting its safety message across to subcontractors. The company has also formulated a policy on occupational health, covering such problems as dermatitis and muscular-skeletal disorders. “We like the fact that they are very specifically addressing occupational health and have an occupational health programme. They are looking at health and safety in its broadest sense,” said the judges.

Finalists

The judges said that Berkeley Homes’ system for vetting contractors on its health and safety credentials was impressively comprehensive. The company’s centralised contractor database, which allows information on health and safety to be shared across the group, also drew praise from the judges.

Countryside Properties

Hearts and Minds is the name of Countryside Properties’ latest safety campaign, which is dedicated to nurturing a health and safety culture. The judges recognised that the company has been a consistent high performer in health and safety over a number of years. “They show commitment to the wider picture in the amount of money they spend on health and safety,” they said.

Miller Homes

Miller’s use of scaffolding staircases instead of ladders on site was singled out as a big plus point by our judges. “We’d like to see more companies doing that,” they said. The company is also involving scaffolders in its projects early to minimise accidents, and has trialled new safety gloves to reduce hand injuries.

Willmott Dixon

Willmott Dixon’s decision to offer cash rewards for best practice in safety was a contentious issue for our judges, but they praised the contractor’s efforts overall as “very strong”. The company has introduced a number of building innovations that help to create a safer working environment, including pre-assembled roof trusses to minimise falls, and lighter components to reduce heavy lifting.

Wilson Bowden

The appointment of a new group health and safety manager last year has brought a fresh approach to health and safety at Wilson Bowden. Health and safety is now the first agenda item at any meeting, a safety steering group has been established and a major health and safety seminar has taken place. The judges said, “They’ve made a good start to tackling the issues.”