Safety First, Second Nature: On-boarding SafeContractor at Adcock Sites

Safety first - Second nature

Our health and safety vision:

As an organisation and as part of a partnership with our supply chain, Adcock is building an ethos that strives to impart an instinctive natural trait amongst its employees and colleagues - and so health and safety at home and at work - leading to an environment where putting safety first is a habitual second nature.

This is Adcock’s latest health and safety initiative; We are proud of our commitment to health and safety and have recently implemented SafeContractor, an SSIP-approved health and safety assessment scheme for contractors within our supply chain who want to meet our forward thinking and exacting standards.

Major brands are also following suit including HSBC, Babcock, Centrica, Knight Frank and Weetabix.

All contractors working on our sites will be required to be accredited to SSIP through SafeContractor.

We have been in contact with our regular contractors to sign up online at www.safecontractor.com where they are guided through the SSIP accreditation process. This provides us with confidence in first stage safety capability assessments by developing the SSIP core criteria and ensuring a consistent, reliable and quality-controlled standard of assessment via qualified, competent, assessors.

Once accredited, contractors will be added to the SafeContractor client portal, which is accessed by over 370 major clients looking for approved contractors to work on their site. There are no exceptions – any contractors working on Adcock sites must be accredited. This can equate to hundreds of workers throughout the course of an air conditioning or refrigeration installation! A streamlined health and safety approach is essential.

Bob Wright, SHEQ Manager for Adcock, explains “we will only be working with supply chain partners who have proven commitment to our high standards, so we are keen to on-board them to SafeContractor as soon as possible. In order for health and safety to become second nature we all need to be aiming for the same competent, consistent application of well managed and implemented safety protocol.”

With the scheme, contractors receive:

• A quick and easy solution to health and safety compliance.
• A choice of service levels and guidance throughout the process including a quick turnaround option.
• An accreditation certificate and van sticker.
• The SafeContractor seal of approval and inclusion on the approved database.
• An annual audit to maintain accreditation.

By insisting that contractors join the scheme before commencing work for Adcock we benefit in many ways, which in turn benefits our customers. For example:

• Mitigation of potential risks on site – safer for all workers, inspectors, visitors, building occupants etc.
• Time and money saved by outsourcing the screening of contractors and being able to select from an approved list of 28,000 companies (and growing).
• Increasing the pool of reliable, competent and compliant subcontractors to find the best rates and talent.
• All adhering to the same safety methods on site – a common framework “the SafeContractor way”.
• Rapid response from SafeContractor in case of any concerning behaviour or poor performance from contractors.
• Peace of mind, confidence in standards and satisfying the HSE.

Remember, we have chosen to implement SafeContractor on our sites to help manage the health and safety of our contractors. To continue working on Adcock sites you will need to join SafeContractor and become accredited.

Contractors interested in finding out more should visit www.safecontractor.com or call 02920 266242.

SafeContractor is part of the Alcumus Group, the market-leading provider of technology-enabled compliance risk management, certification and verification services.