Health & Safety

We know that establishing and enforcing appropriate measures to control and monitor Health, Safety and Welfare of our employees, is a vital part of running the business as an efficient and successful operation.

To this end we will:

  • Ensure that plant and working practices are safe and offer no risk to health
  • Ensure that all necessary precautions are taken in respect of the safe use, handling, storage and transport of materials and substances
  • Provide such information, instruction training and supervision as is necessary to ensure the health and safety at work of employees
  • Maintain all places of work, equipment and transport under our control in a safe condition, free from risk to health
  • Provide adequate facilities for the welfare of employees
  • Safeguard the health and safety of visitors including contractors and of any members of the general public who could be affected by our activities
  • Provide all necessary information relating to health and safety in respect of processes, products and services.

12 Key Issues of Safety Management 

 

At Forticrete, we believe the health, the safety and the welfare of all our employees, visitors and contractors are the foundations of everything we do as a company. This philosophy has enabled the management team to monitor year on year progress in safety performance, proven with the achievement of the British Precast Gold award for Health and Safety improvements for two consecutive years.

In addition to our own stringent policy and procedures, Forticrete has fully embraced the requirements of the fundamentals for eliminating fatalities as laid down by our parent company Ibstock plc.

These fundamentals address the 12 key issues of safety management which have attributed to accidents and incidents within our industry sector during the past decade and they are as follows:

01 Risk Assessment

  • Each company must have a documented risk assessment policy in place and it must bE communicated to all locations
  • Risk assessment must address routine and non-routine tasks including; work carried out by contractors, temporary employees and construction work.

02 Mobile Plant & Pedestrian Safety

  • Each location must have documented site transport rules in place based on a workplace transport risk assessment which at a minimum address:
    • Vehicle and pedestrian segregation.
    • Edge protection for slopes and benches.
    • Driver training rules and assessment.
    • Vehicle rules, including speed limits, alarms, reversing systems, statutory inspections and use of mobile phones.
    • All drivers must be trained and regularly assessed and must carry out documented daily pre-use company vehicle inspections for both on-site and off-site use.
    • Seat belts must be worn by all drivers.
    • All loads must be secure and within vehicle weight limits.

03 Isolation of Operating Machinery

  • Each location must have a documented lock-out, tag-out and try (LTT) policy incorporating machine specific isolation rules.
  • All employees must be trained in the policy and all relevant employees trained in machinery specific rules for LTT
  • Each location must carry out and document regular checks of the integrity of LTT and interlock systems.

04 Machinery Guarding

  • Each location must maintain a documented system for regular checking of machinery guarding.
  • No machinery may be operated without all exposed or accessible dangerous moving parts being guarded.
  • No machine may be put into operation after maintenance without authorisation.

05 Confined Spaces

  • All locations must have a documented confined space entry policy and supporting rules for each confined space identified on site.
  • Only trained and authorised persons (employees or contractors) should be allowed to work in confined spaces.
  • Shoring or appropriately designed sloping must be provided for all excavations over 1.5m (5 feet) in depth.

06 Working at Heights

  • All locations must carry out a Risk Assessment related to working at heights and document location-specific and task-specific operating rules.
  • Collective measures and/or personal protective equipment must be provided in all cases of working at heights, consistent with the findings of the location Risk Assessments.
  • Only fully trained and authorised persons (employees and contractors) should be allowed to work at height.
  • Any equipment used in connection with Working at Height must be inspected before use.

07 Lifting Operations

  • All operators of lifting equipment – static or mobile -must be trained in the operation of the equipment.
  • Specific areas where lifting and slinging takes place must be designated “out of bounds” to personnel during lifting.
  • Documented checks must be carried out on personnel competency, equipment certification and loading rates in accordance with legal requirements.
  • All lifting equipment and accessories must be inspected before use and must be subject to the requirements of statutory inspections.

08 Electricity

  • Each location must have in place a documented electricity at work policy and supporting safety procedures for working with electricity.
  • Only fully trained and qualified persons (employees and contractors) shall be allowed to carry out work on electrical systems and wiring or enter controls panels and enclosures for the resetting of trips.
  • Electrical systems and connected devices shall have in place RCD protection which should be frequently tested for functionality and annually tested by a competent person.
  • Fixed wiring must be subject to the requirements of statutory inspections.

09 Manual Handling

  • All manual handling operations shall be risk assessed using the appropriate assessment tools, MAC, ART or RAPP.
  • All employees involved in manual handling activities should be suitably trained as per the findings of the risk assessment and manual handling assessment. Refresher training is required at a typical frequency of every 3 years.
  • Appropriate mechanical lifting aides must be provided wherever practicable to minimise associated risks
  • Employees must use mechanical lifting aides wherever they are provided.
  • All lifting devices and accessories must be inspected before use and subject to the requirements of statutory inspections.

10 Pressure Vessels

  • All pressure systems shall be designed, manufactured and installed to be safe and without risks to health when used at work.
  • Adequate documentation shall be provided to the user to ensure that the system can be maintained and operated safely and without risk to health.
  • All pressure vessels must be inspected as per the written scheme of examination.
  • Only fully trained and authorised persons (employees or contractors) shall be allowed to work with or maintain pressure vessels and connected devices.

11 Contractors

  • As a minimum requirement, all contractors must agree to follow the company “Conditions of Contract and Safety Rules for Contractors” by signing the “Declaration” in the back section of the handbook. They must undertake to ensure that all their employees are made aware of the conditions.
  • Contractors must demonstrate the competence of all their employees and sub-contractors and must make available all relevant documentation and safe systems of work E.g. Risk assessments, method statements, training records and inspection and test records for all equipment being used.

12 Gas

  • All locations must have a policy and associated procedures that comply with current legislation i.e. Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 4th Edition.
  • Employees required to work with gas systems and associated equipment must be fully trained to the appropriate level of competency.
  • Standard Safe Operating Procedures must be in place for all operations involving gas E.g. Kiln operation, shut-down, light-up etc.
  • For Decommissioning of a Gas System all live systems should be isolated off-site and purged with inert gas before any work starts. Evidence of isolation must be provided before giving any authorization to proceed.

Accident Data

 

Performance in improving and reducing accidents and injuries within Forticrete has continued to make steady progress during the last 5 years. We have achieved an unprecedented low number of Lost Time Accidents (LTA).

Subsequently our severity ratio (number accident days lost/number of hours worked x 100,000) has dramatically fallen. Current statistics are available on request.