January 2019
A North East-based scaffolding company has become the first subcontractor to be awarded a health and safety pin from Story Homes, in recognition of its exceptionally proactive approach to health and safety on site.
As a house builder with a strong commitment to achieving high standards of health and safety, we originally introduced the pins to recognise members of staff who make a valuable contribution to this.
We decided that BS Scaffolding Ltd, which works across several of our North East developments in the south of the region, deserved to be the first external recipient of a pin because of its excellent approach to the management of site scaffolds.
The owners of BS Scaffolding, Richard Berryman and Craig Smith, along with Contracts Manager James Chapman, have implemented monthly TG20:13 compliance audits of every scaffold erected on site. This audit highlights any faults and issues and allows sites to raise the standards of the scaffold at handover stage, eliminating persistent problems and minor faults and having a very positive effect on site health and safety scores relating to scaffolding.
BS Scaffolding has also taken the measure of implementing monthly Hand Arm Vibration logs for all scaffolders on site who use cordless impact wrenches. The use of impact wrenches by scaffolders is under scrutiny from the HSE in its current health inspection campaign due to the risk of them causing Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome.
James Chapman, Contracts Manager at BS Scaffolding, said: “We have been keeping an eye on Hand Arm Vibration for a little while now as the welfare and safety of our employees is of paramount importance to us. This is just the next step in becoming a better employer and contractor. We were very pleased to be the first external company to receive a health and safety pin from Story Homes in recognition of our efforts, and it is great to work with a company that shares our commitment to health and safety.”
Di Parums, Head of HSE at Story Homes, commented: “We have been impressed with the particularly proactive approach displayed by BS Scaffolding, which will help set higher standards within the industry as a whole. It is the first time that we have recognised a subcontractor in this way and it is very much deserved by BS Scaffolding.”
