Our technical division has won a 2019 RoSPA Gold Award, having achieved a high level of health and safety performance. They demonstrated well developed occupational health and safety management systems and culture, outstanding risk control.
Reflecting upon this achievement, we sat down with Mike Floyd, Managing Director Technical Services, to find out more about the initiatives his team has put in place, which ultimately led to winning the gold award.
Q1. How do you and the senior management team lead the health and safety practices at Atalian Servest?
Ensuring the health and safety of all colleagues, clients, visitors and subcontractors is at the forefront of everything we do. We have a QHSE strategy and Health and Safety Policy, which both form part of all new starter inductions. This ensures all colleagues are aware of the importance of health and safety from the start of their employment.
The Health and Safety and Tech Compliance Risk Register is a vital part of the health and safety practice; it is where all risks are recorded and prioritised accordingly. The Safety Forum Committee manages the register, led by our Senior Management team and made up of employees from all levels. The committee meets quarterly to discuss all matters of health and safety, including the highlighting of any new potential risks.
Q2. What is the QHSE department responsible for?
The QHSE department, led by the QHSE Manager ensures Atalian Servest complies with all legal responsibilities regarding health, safety and wellbeing. As well as this, they are responsible for providing competent advice and guidance, maintaining all standards through audits, inspections and reporting and policies management.
In addition to the QHSE Manager, three QHSE Advisors are strategically placed across the UK (Scotland, Midlands and London) who support on all matters. For example, if an Advisor were to identify that a specialist service is required, such as water hygiene checks or asbestos removal, they would assign the service to one highly skilled technical managers or pre-approved supply partners.
Q3. How have you and your team engaged with colleagues, and what have been the benefits of doing so?
We have assigned employee representatives for all health and safety matters, who have been nominated by their colleagues for each of our locations. There are quarterly safety forum meetings, where we discuss near-miss reports, accidents, new or revised policies and any outcomes of any investigations. In order to engage with the representatives as much as possible, we meet both face to face and via teleconferencing to ensure we maximise attendance and engagement.
The in-depth discussions mean that all representatives can engage, ask questions and gain a better understanding of any health and safety matters. This minimises any misunderstandings, which allows the representatives to feedback any relevant communications with colleagues.
‘Toolbox talks’ are also issued weekly to operatives, which includes safety alerts and wellbeing bulletins, including topics surrounding asbestos, manual handling and electrical testing.
We believe that keeping employees informed and involved within the development of all health and safety procedures is pivotal to us achieving the RoSPA Gold Award.
————————————————————————————
RoSPA is committed to shaping our society for the better through campaigning, carrying out research, influencing legislation, informing and educating, auditing and providing expert consultancy to businesses. From the compulsory requirement of wearing a seatbelt to the more recent ban on using a handheld mobile while driving, RoSPA has been instrumental in changing both legislation and attitudes surrounding health and safety for the last 100 years.
