Scaffolding contractor XERVON Palmers, has launched an in-house health and safety initiative – the Safety Recognition Scheme (SRS) – aiming to maintain and encourage the improvement of standards in scaffolding access provision for users and customers, through the recognition of excellence in services.
The innovative XERVON Palmers scheme was launched in December 2013 and its key aim is to encourage all to maintain and improve a safe working environment, through recognising good health and safety practice at work – with a series of awards available to employees for delivering excellence in safe scaffolding and access working practices.
Nominations for the SRS will be generated from one employee to another, and can include groups, as well as individuals. And the SRS monthly and quarterly awards include one extra day’s holiday with pay, plus a monthly/quarterly £100 charitable donation made by XERVON Palmers to the winners’ charity of choice. And the top SRS annual award is a weekend break in the UK for two (with the winner of the 2013 to be announced in January 2014).
The introduction of the monthly, quarterly and annual Safety Recognition Scheme invites all XERVON Palmers staff members, direct employees, agency & part time workers to nominate a colleague for the safety recognition awards. A special SRS monthly ‘Recognition Panel’ (made up of a project manager, safety advisor and supervisor) judge which of the applicants is the winner each month, with each area or significant project having its own recognition panel. Then each monthly winner’s submission from the preceding three months will be considered by the Quarterly Recognition Scheme Panel (which will be made up of XERVON Palmers Managing Director and Company Operations Manager) to determine a quarterly winner.
SRS award winners will be judged on proactive solutions and behaviours like sound safety observations, sensible interventions, making safety suggestions, reporting ‘close calls,’ being influential at safety meetings and other positive contributions when assisting safety inspections and tours.
Winners of the monthly award will be announced the second Monday of the following month, with quarterly winners being announced Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, and the overall 2014 Annual SRS Award winner will be unveiled in January 2015, after consideration of all the monthly and quarterly winners and consultation between the XERVON Palmers Managing Director and Company Operations Manager.
XERVON Palmers MD, Donald Morrison & Company Operations Manager, Andy O’Connor launched the new SRS program in December 2013 and awarded the first monthly – and 2013 annual – winner based on December monthly nominees. The inaugural winner was Mick Burrows – who won the annual accolade and a weekend away for his outstanding safety contribution on the Kingston Bridge Project.
Ian McFarlane, Director for Business & Project Development at XERVON Palmers said:
“Congratulations to Mick for being our first SRS 2013 Annual award winner. Whilst working on a night shift, XERVON Palmers and our key subcontractor Envirowrap were requested to work in two areas instead of the planned one. When Mick reviewed the works, he ascertained that the second work area had very poor lighting, plus there was an added danger of a live high voltage third line very close by, combined with the fact that there was only one Controller of Site Safety (COSS) available on site. So, Mick Burrows sensibly took it upon himself to act by stopping work and deciding to revert to the original plan of working in one area at a time. This meant the COSS and lighting could be concentrated in one area rather than depleted across two, meaning operations could carry on safely avoiding a potential accident.
“This new reward-led initiative will help us continue to set the highest possible standards in health and safety in the scaffolding and access industry. It’s all part of a wider aim to maintain, improve and encourage our existing safety-focused, skilled working teams to ensure that the operations we provide for our clients are executed safely.
“We encourage all to think and take time out to ensure they protect themselves, the public and those around them when they are at work – and when good behaviors such as Mick’s are observed we should reward and recognise those individuals who work with safety at the forefront of their mind.”
Donald Morrison, CEO of XERVON Palmers added:
“We are a company that believes we can all make the difference, working as a team, hence our company slogan ‘Where the people make the difference’. The new SRS scheme is another tool to help us continue to create safer behaviours in our working environment; initiatives like this create win-win positions by raising standards in health and safety in our industry.
“As ever this starts with our own efforts to collectively improve standards where we can in-house, this combined with the fact that the scheme helps improve motivation & boost staff morale and we are able to contribute to deserving charity causes are all added bonuses.”
