By Bob Paterson, Director of SHEQ and Compliance, Mabey Hire and Andy Oakes, SHEQ Manager, Mabey Bridge
Accidents shouldn’t happen; and in construction, where there are many ways people can hurt themselves, safeguarding people’s safety is especially important.
That’s why we’re delighted to have achieved two gold RoSPA awards for Mabey Hire and Mabey Bridge - evidence of our commitment to promoting a generative culture where health and safety is embedded in everything we do.
Whether that’s attending an emergency response site to prop up a partially collapsed bridge over a motorway, or working at our manufacturing site in Lydney to build modular bridges for disaster relief in Costa Rica; working safely does not require additional time, special thought or consideration - it is simply part of our DNA.
To ensure this ethos runs across the entire business, we’ve established our multiple award winning ‘Think Safe: STEP123’ strategy. Step 1 is to assess the systems, tools, environment and people (STEP) - if something isn’t right or presents an uncontrolled risk, our colleague stops or reports for assistance before work begins. Step 2 is to challenge anybody who is unaware of a hazard or risk close by - this ensures that people look out for one another, as well as themselves. The final embedded behaviour is to immediately correct any issues that are likely to cause an incident.
Safety is also fully embedded in our product design and manufacturing processes. Our groundworks equipment, for example, is designed to make excavation work safe for our customers. Similarly, our modular, pre-engineered bridges have standard interchangeable components to allow for safe and efficient installation.
In recognition of these high levels of health and safety performance and outstanding control of risk, Mabey Bridge celebrates its third consecutive Gold Award in the internationally-renowned RoSPA Health and Safety Awards, whilst Mabey Hire has achieved its seventh Gold Award in a row, facilitating a third Gold Medal Award.
These awards, the longest running industry awards in the UK, distinguish businesses committed to promoting safety at work and preventing accidents. Mabey Bridge, for example, has now exceeded 550 days since its last lost time accident - an achievement we’re extremely proud of.
All our colleagues recognise their responsibility towards health and safety and are trained to think how their actions affect others within the organisation, as well as other businesses throughout the supply chain who we collaborate with day in, day out. The achievement of two more RoSPA awards is true testament to this.
