Riddor (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) requires employers to report to the relevant authority any work related accidents and incidents of a certain nature.
The first phase of the £100m facility opened in 2015 with further phases due to come on stream in the coming months. The terminal handles up to three million tonnes of wood pellets a year to supply Drax power station in Yorkshire, with the material shipped directly from the Port of Liverpool by train.
Paul Scott, contracts director, Graham Construction said: “Safety is one of our core values with the aim of ensuring all staff on our projects remain free from harm or ill health as a result of their work. We firmly believe that good safety statistics are as a result of diligent planning, effective supervision and management, trusted supply chain partners and a trained and competent workforce. It’s absolutely essential to have realistic timescales, achievable standards and expectations, and attention to detail throughout both the design and build phases. We also place a lot of store by the relationship we have with our client, Peel Ports, who have approached this project in the spirit of partnership and always maintained an open door policy with us to make sure we’re all communicating effectively.”
Graham Construction has attributed its achievement to a range of measures it has put in place:
• Encouraging the whole team to make health and safety observations
• Introducing a reward scheme that focussed on the quality of observations, not just the number
• Having a ‘no blame’ culture that minimised any reservations felt by younger or more junior staff
• Issuing clear guidance on minimum standards and documentation to suppliers
• Demonstrating senior level buy-in by having its own project manager attend the opening of all site safety committee meetings
• Introducing a ‘you said, we did’ board to provide feedback to staff
Peel Ports’ Project Director Garry Sharpe said: “Reaching a million man-hours without a Riddor reportable incident is a phenomenal achievement by Graham Construction and their supply chain partners. Graham’s management team have driven a culture of safety awareness, with a strong focus on the basics, using risk assessment and method statement as the foundation to all activities. Particular credit has to go to Alan Wallace, Stevie Collins and Chris Murphy for putting a proactive health and safety approach at the heart of the project and for ensuring the safety of not only their team, but that of Peel Ports, in a joint construction and operational environment.”