Safety, Health and Environmental
Safety and Health
We believe that people are our most valuable resource. Accordingly, we give the health and safety of our employees and anyone else who may be affected by our business the highest of priorities. Health and safety is a core business value within Pochin.
Over recent years we have developed and refined our health and safety management system, and in 2007 received certification from BSI to the international health and safety management system standard OHSAS 18001; we are currently working on the transition to the revised standard, BS OHSAS 18001:2007. Continual improvement is central to our approach, and fresh targets and objectives for health and safety performance are set annually.
Our commitment to Health & Safety is supported by a team of
two professional Health & Safety Advisers who provide
assistance at all levels throughout the company and continually
monitor, review and report on performance to the Board of
Directors. This commitment is reflected in a continual improvement
in accident figures over recent years and a reportable accident
incidence rate which is significantly lower than the industry
average. Since 2005 we have received a Silver and four Gold Awards
in the RoSPA Annual Occupational Health & Safety Awards. We are
also certified under the Connaught (formerly National Britannia)
SAFEcontractor scheme and
CHAS (Construction Health & Safety Assessment Scheme), and
are Constructionline registered.
We recognise that our supply chain is a key part of the overall
picture and all our contractors undergo rigorous evaluation to
ensure they satisfy our competency requirements. Clearly, the
competency of individuals is also crucial, and all persons working
on our projects require a skills card issued under the Construction
Skills Certification Scheme.
In line with our commitment to minimise the impact of our sites on the local environments and communities, all projects are registered with, and audited independently by, the Considerate Constructors Scheme.
Sustainability and the Environment
While all construction activities have some impact on the environment, we are committed to keeping this to a minimum. We strive to ensure that our construction activities and the projects we deliver are not at the expense of future generations.
We seek to control the short term impacts of our sites by undertaking detailed environmental assessments prior to the start of every project. We also work closely with our clients both before and during projects, and endeavour to achieve sustainability in our buildings through thoughtful design and the use of materials from sustainable sources. Wherever possible we will make our clients aware of 'greener' design options.
An environmental management system is included within our health and safety management system and we are currently developing this further to achieve full compliance with BS EN ISO 14001 in the near future. Fundamental to this management system standard is continual improvement in environmental performance.
All of our site managers have received environmental awareness training and all persons working on our projects receive relevant and appropriate environmental instruction during site induction.
In line with the Government's Strategy for sustainable Construction we are fully committed to reducing the amount of waste generated by our activities and in particular the amount of waste going to landfill. Site Waste Management Plans are prepared for every project - previously based on the 2004 DTI Voluntary Code of Practice and now in accordance with the requirements of the Site Waste Management Plans Regulations 2008. We work closely with our waste management contractors to divert as much waste as possible away from landfill. We work with our designers and project teams to ensure that less waste is produced.
We have commissioned surveys of water and energy usage at our head office premises and have incorporated many of the improvements recommended in the subsequent reports.
Throughout the business we monitor our usage of energy and water and our waste production. Anyone who has been involved in this task will appreciate the difficulties in obtaining accurate data and we have invested much time and effort in refining and improving our data collection. This is central to measuring future improvements in performance.
Our approach to sustainability and the environment is driven by the firm belief that we must consider the future today.
Please click here to download the Pochin's PLC safety, health and environmental policy.