GKR Scaffolding have been awarded the Construction News Access and Scaffolding Specialist of the year award for the second year running AND a Training Excellence award.
The London based firm that employs over 300 people, GKR Scaffolding Ltd last night (22 March) collected the awards at the glitzy Construction News (CN) Specialist Awards, held at the London’s Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane.
In a fiercely contested category, GKR stood out from the competition with their vision to be the UK’s leading scaffolding firm, providing solutions at every stage of a project while also being seen as an exceptional employer providing a great place to work.
CN reports that the past 12 months have been an outstanding period for the company, during which it has engaged in several high-profile projects.
These include Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium in north London, on which GKR provided one of the largest scaffold staircases in Europe. Other stand out projects mentioned were a highly sensitive job at the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth. GKR erected an accessible scaffold around the preserved vessel that had to protect it while demolition works were undertaken for a viewing gallery.
Another GKR project mentioned that is currently under way at Wimbledon for the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which is overseeing extensive work to No 1 Court to deliver extra seating and a retractable roof.
According to the Construction News judges, GKR also stood out in the areas of Health and Safety with its occupational health programme, the business is implementing safety-critical medicals for all operatives. These medicals are carried out in a specially adapted van by occupational health service providers on visits to the firm’s sites.
This week we commence our 2017 Fit for Work Medicals @GKRLtd. Our mobile medical vehicle will be visiting over 50 employees. #gkrhealthweek pic.twitter.com/a5MLia04zr
— Lee Rowswell (@LeeRowswell) February 6, 2017
GKR Scaffolding was also awarded with the Training Excellence accolade for it’s in-house training academy.
The GKR Academy opened in 2014 – believed to be a first in the scaffolding sector – and last year saw its first graduation evening for trained supervisors.
Its graduates have achieved qualifications in leadership and team skills accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management, while 12 new supervisors have already begun the first module for year two of Delivering Leadership and Management Skills.
CN say that “GKR’s comprehensive set of achievements left judges in no doubt that the firm stood out as the outstanding access and scaffolding specialist in the market.”
