Heyrod Construction Ltd - Health and Safety …

1 Heyrod Construction LtdWorker engagement case study 9 This case study is part of a series of case studies, which giveexamples of best practice when engaging workers to improvehealth and Safety in the challengeIn 2005, Heyrod directors became concerned about risingaccident rates. Investigation into the causes of this trend,and what could be done to reverse it, resulted in an accidentreduction strategy, with a commitment to increase thepersonal responsibility of the workforce towards Health andsafety, and to fight what was then seen as Gillespie, Managing Director, says: We want to beknown as the safest employer in our sector. We wereconcerned that once the company grew to employ morethan 500 workers, our accident rates went up, and we hadto attend more meetings with principal contractorsexpressing concern over our performance.

2 The safest sitesare the most productive, we needed to drive home themessage that there are no shortcuts to safe, productivework; each worker needs to understand this, and look aftertheir own Health and Safety . The Heyrod Safety team started using Total QualityManagement and Investors in People principles to design theinitiatives, but then found the worker engagement case studieson the HSE website. From September 2005, Heyrod hasimplemented a range of communication and engagementstrategies to drive injury and ill Health rates trainingSupervisors and charge hands are identified by wearingblack hats. Over the year from June 2004 to June 2005,more supervisors were appointed, bringing the ratio ofsupervisors to operatives down from 1 to 1 FromSeptember 2005 to March 2006, there has been aconsiderable investment in supervisor training.

3 As of March2006, 60 Heyrod supervisors have attended the two-dayCITB supervisors training course. A key part of this trainingis to develop communications skills. Over the same one-yearperiod, the number of full-time Safety advisors has increasedfrom one to and Safety ExecutiveCompany fact fileHeyrod Construction Ltd is a family business, based inChadderton, Lancashire for the past 25 years. Operating inthe north of England, mainly along the M62 corridor, thecompany has an annual turnover of around 50 million, andspecialises in constructing all types of concrete most contracts, Heyrod is a specialist subcontractor,providing services such as building false work andformwork, specialist scaffolding, pouring and finishingconcrete and operating associated plant. Builds includebridgeworks, highway structures, sewage works, pumpingstations and multi-storey concrete frames contracts include Princes Dock, Liverpool, St JamesHospital, Leeds, and the Manchester Joint Hospitals have included Bovis, Carillion, Alfred McAlpine andAmec.

4 Heyrod has now diversified into new build,refurbishment, and design and build employs some 700 workers directly, with typicallyup to 100 additional European prayersThe Black Hats meet with their gang of operatives eachmorning to deliver a daily briefing, covering current andplanned work activities for the day, Health and Safety issues,hot topics and any company messages in Health and safetybulletins. This briefing is known as morning prayers .Regular briefings and trade representativesHeyrod site managers brief supervisors on the workprogramme, Health and Safety issues and feedback fromhealth and Safety advisers each week. They also meet traderepresentatives on a quarterly basis. Currently, Heyrod hasone formally appointed Safety representative, undergoingtraining through the mechanisms The hot topicsThe accident reduction analysis identified four hot topics toengage with the workforce to drive down accidents:nrespect for people;nhousekeeping;npedestrian walkways; andnplanning the zero tolerance approach has been developed, withmanagers demonstrating that resources will be devoted toimproving standards.

5 Toolbox talks are held to illustrate goodpractice, with pictures of good housekeeping, pedestrianwalkways and well-planned sites. All Heyrod workers shouldreceive a weekly toolbox talk. Attendance records are Improving Safety on siteSuggestions from the workforce can improve safe conditionsonsite. At the Manchester Joint Hospitals site, workersidentified podium steps as being the most stable andproductive method of working at height to fix and take downpurpose-built shuttering columns used in the new structure(Figure 1). In another example, the Alsipercha inertia reelsystem has been adopted to provide a fall-arrest facility forworkers unloading steel from delivery lorries (Figure 2).Directors toursEarly 2006, directors Jim Ness and Paul Gilllespie visited allten Heyrodsites between them, and spoke to everyoperative.

6 By getting out on site, they were setting anexample in the personal protective equipment (PPE) worn,and in their conversations with individual workers. Theirsimple message is Look after yourself, don t take shortcuts. Health and Safety bulletinsRegular bulletins cover a wide range of topics: lessonslearned from incidents on site, the results of the companyHealth and Safety Policy review and the launch of theconfidential 141 Hotline to head office to report Health andsafety concerns. A recent bulletin covered the outcomes ofemployee consultation and announced trials of better qualitywet gear in response to concerns raised by evaluationEvaluating products such as gloves and other items ofnecessary PPE is used as opportunity to engage with theworkforce and seek their views through a screeningA network of managers and first aiders is being establishedto set up an initial Health screening process.

7 The aim is thatevery worker is asked relevant questions to assess whetherthey are suffering from work-related ill Health conditions suchas hearing loss, hand-arm vibration syndrome or is a first line of identification of problems, where anyworkers showing signs of these conditions will be referred tohealth professionals for a full workersHeyrod employs up to 100 workers (mainly from Poland andPortugal) for whom English is not their first language. Thecompany has developed a range of strategies, includingmaking sure that there is an interpreter available for a gang ofsix foreign workers. Method statements are interpreted intoPolish and Portuguese, and toolbox talks are given in themother tongue. Specific Health and Safety training isprovided, including the CITB CS Health and Safety s accident analysis indicates that these workers,approximately 17% of the workforce, contribute only 4% ofall first aid and injury accidents reported to Manager Mike Routledge is seeing the resultsof the new approach after a first year of operation:na 50% reduction in accidents;nindication of reduced staff turnover and retention/returnof skilled staff;nincreasing levels of trust from the workforce;nwillingness to try new work methods and makesuggestions;nimproved Health and Safety competence;nthe previous blame culture is dissipating, with moreopenness and a willingness to talk.

8 Nbetter management understanding of accidents, eg fromrecent accidents, 50% resulted in a hospital visit, 60%involved workers who had worked for Heyrod less than12 months, 70% occurred before am;nreduced adverse client or principal contractor feedback - Contractor of the Month award at St James Hospital,Leeds site. When we say Safety is as important as production we meanit and we must demonstrate it at all times. We are pleasedwith these early results but they are just a foundation onwhich to build upon. Paul Gillespie, by the Health and Safety Executive 06 engagement case study 9 Figure 1 Podium steps in use Figure 2 A Jennings and J Keeley with the inertia reel system