It’s BITC’s Responsible Business Week and today we’re talking all things Health & Safety. For any business, and particularly in the sectors that adi Group operates in, health and safety is paramount and an issue that we take very seriously.

Did you know that…

• 27 million working days were lost in 2013/14, 22.7 million due to work-related ill health and 4.3 million due to workplace injury

• 80% – 95% of all accidents are triggered by unsafe behaviours.

• There were 22,433 major injuries to employees reported in 2013/14. Over 40% were caused by slipping or tripping.

• 300 unsafe acts > 29 minor injuries > 1 LTA

Playing Our Part

In 2015, adi Group began rolling out our very own Health and Safety Campaign called ‘Think Safe, Work Safe, Home Safe’ as a means of driving a behaviour and safety culture across the business.

To keep Health & Safety at the forefront of business operations and to ensure continuous improvement, adi has its own committee that meets regularly to provide a forum for management and employees to talk about H&S in the work place.

For any organisation, whether you are a permanent employee, agency worker, contractor; you need to be aware of the issues that affect your health and safety at work because a safe workplace protects your health. Workplaces where employees are active in health and safety often have lower accident rates and if everyone does their bit it can make a real difference.

Our QHSE Team devised the START acronym to help focus attention on key H&S issues in the workplace – particularly for our teams that are on site or based within our workshops. It’s quick, simple and easy to remember:

Stop – and consider the task you are about to undertake.

Think – about the hazards involved in the tasks.

Assess – the risks to your health and safety.

Resource – Ensure you have the correct tools, equipment and PPE.

Take On – if you are sure that the job is safe.

Keeping Our Employees Safe and Aware

With our ‘One Team’ approach, we involve employees in this process and encourage everyone to be part of promoting our health and safety culture. All employees are encouraged to;

• Co-operate
• Speak up
• Be assertive
• Pay attention
• Accept Feedback
• Ask questions, make suggestions.
• Report any accidents, incidents and any health and safety problems.
• Consult with your Safety Representatives

We are proud that our employees take health and safety seriously and do speak up when they feel that something is amiss.

In fact, numerous adi employees have been the recipients of monthly health and safety awards on our client sites for having such a proactive attitude and actively contributing to improving health and safety on-site.

Health & Safety is always going to be an issue that businesses need to remain on top of on a daily basis and by thinking safe and working safe we are making sure that everyone goes home safely.