British Gypsum: Lost time accident free for one million hours

Two more of British Gypsum’s manufacturing sites have reached the significant milestone of one million hours lost time accident free. Both the Kirkby Thore and Barrow-Upon-Soar sites have been working hard to support a company culture that embraces safety and wellbeing as a key priority. This company-wide commitment has seen all employees take responsibility for their own and their colleagues’ safety by continually assessing their actions, recognising potential hazards and removing them before they can cause harm.

This remarkable milestone has been achieved through the introduction of additional health and safety training and activities, and a cross-company dedication to excellence. It has also been supported through FOILE (Field Operations Directive in their Interventions in Large Employers), a programme of work with the Health and Safety Executive. This four-year partnership has led to continuous improvement in health and safety standards across all parts of the business.

FOILE involved a series of planned site inspections, the sharing of learning with three other FOILE partners and a standardisation of systems and tools across the business. Surveys, tool box talks and improved contractor induction systems were introduced to raise awareness of potential issues like excessive noise levels, pedestrian segregation from vehicle movement and slips, trips and falls.   

FOILE has been a key driver in improving health and safety performance and British Gypsum was awarded most improved safety performance and best overall safety performance across their global gypsum businesses for last year.

Kirkby Thore’s plant manager, Chris Britton, comments: “I’m incredibly proud of all of our employees for helping us achieve this massive milestone. It was only met because of their dedication and commitment to safety. As a result safe working practices have become truly embedded into the everyday behaviour of staff across all our sites.

“It’s imperative people go home in the same health they arrived on site. So whether they’re an employee, contractor or visitor, we make it a priority to ensure everyone understands what is expected of them and sees health and safety as an essential part of their day-to-day job. This approach is what enables us to maintain our BES 6001 obligations: to act as a responsible supplier with a focus on employee safety.

“Even though this milestone has been achieved, safety remains important to us. Our forthcoming strategy is to remain vigilant at all times and improve our employee engagement further.”

British Gypsum manufacturing sites maintain the highest health and safety standards, with all five sites achieving Saint-Gobain’s World Class Manufacturing (WCM) standards Bronze Status in 2008. Since then all sites have continued to enhance their operational performances with the East Leake site recently being upgraded to Silver Status following a rigorous external auditing process.