|
|
 |
|
Facilities Services
>
Safety
>
Best practice in health and safety
 |
Published in FMX, September 2007 |
|
|
|
| “If employees do not see that there is a commitment to Health and Safety at the highest levels in the organisation, in other words senior management do not ‘walk the talk’ then any Health and Safety targets set will not be achieved”, says Paul Richards, Head of Quality, Safety, Health and Environment (QSHE), Interserve Facilities Management. “The whole culture has to reflect your Health and Safety values; otherwise employees won’t take on board the importance of the training that they receive or the instructions that they are given.” |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Interserve is accredited to and complies with, a number of Quality, Safety, Health and Environmental Management schemes including ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001. To date they have 64 trained trainers in Health and Safety in accordance with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health residential course, and are licensed to run the Safety Passport Alliance (SPA) safety passport scheme, as well as a number of IOSH Accredited courses. In addition, Interserve has developed its own in-house training packages accredited by IOSH; these courses include Working at Height Awareness and Facilities Manager Awareness. Interserve also endorse the SAFEContractor Scheme and have implemented a bespoke initiative called Don’t Walk By, reminding every employee to stay aware and help ensure their working environment is hazard and accident free. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| “Our facilities services contracts often stipulate that we will undertake to provide Health and Safety advice for clients, and this is a huge responsibility in every respect. We simply cannot afford to allow any sort of complacency by any manager or employee to the detriment of anyone else’s safety. We go to great lengths to ensure everyone from the bottom up understands their own personal obligations to their colleagues and managers, and the greater responsibilities we have as a business” continued Paul Richards. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| When working with household name clients, the negative publicity that can arise from any real or perceived negligence in the arena of Health and Safety is widely understood. Interserve regularly undertakes site surveys and compiles risk assessments for their clients, as well as performing compliance audits in accordance with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Guidelines and the HS (G) 65 Model and ISO Quality Management Procedures. The results from these allow bespoke action plans and training programmes to be developed and implemented as appropriate. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Due to the nature of Interserve’s contracts, employees are working in a variety of clients’ premises reinfocing the importance of safety standards not just for employees but also for clients and their staff. Interserve provides Health and Safety induction courses, with regular subsequent training, regardless of their working history. The provision of properly trained staff is the key to safe operations on site. In fact, one of Interserve’s specific corporate objectives is to provide high quality safety training, information and guidance to all personnel at all times and via a variety of mediums. The induction courses are just one example; in-depth briefings are also held to share the Health and Safety Management Plan with managers. Employees attend toolbox talks, focusing on a specific aspect of their job and the Health and Safety challenges involved. Safety campaigns are regularly run throughout the year, including the displaying of posters and notices at all locations, with bulletins being issued via e-mail and the company intranet. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Interserve also provides training courses for clients, with their own managers and supervisors automatically being required to attend them, whether they are on risk assessment and hazard recognition, a COSHH assessment or an accident investigation. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| As part of Interserve’s commitment to continuous improvement, they have recently introduced a unique safety campaign called CATS, an acronym for Changing Attitudes Towards Safety. This programme is designed to prevent injuries to both employees and those around them. An orientation day is used to introduce CATS to each team, focusing on elevating their level of awareness of safety by making it personal, relevant and important, such that it impacts their daily choices and actions. CATS is a behavioural based safety process that identifies both good and bad working procedures by using employees to identify potential accidents, and ensure that actions are taken and behaviours are changed to prevent accidents occurring. Currently a number of clients are participating in the CATS programme and many more have expressed an interest. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Paul Richards believes that CATS has a significant impact on the reduction of accidents in the organisation and states, “CATS demonstrates proactive accident prevention and allows trend analysis to be undertaken to enable awareness programmes to be instigated across the company. There are few organisations that can truly demonstrate tangible results of accident prevention like this. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| “At Interserve we place great importance on health and safety, which is evident through the comprehensive quality system we operate. Winning awards gives our teams the recognition that they deserve but we cannot and do not rest on our laurels. No company should ever consider that its practices are sufficient. There is always someone else to train, a system to review, or a new piece of legislation to implement. If FM businesses and clients can remember this and see Health and Safety as a natural part of their business, then it will become second nature to consider the risk implications of every working practice, regardless of whether you work on a construction site, in a hospital, a supermarket, or an office” concluded Paul Richards. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
