Building firm's safety award

Chris Greeves, left, (apprentice window and door fitter) in new RSPCA development

CONSTRUCTION and refurbishment company Emanuel Whittaker has been awarded Safecontractor accreditation for its commitment to achieving excellence in health and safety.

Furthermore while most businesses opt for just one health and safety assessment, Emanuel Whittaker has gone for a double.

Lee Bradbury, health, safety & environment manager for the Oldham company, said: "Health and safety is a top priority and we have an excellent record in this field. We have held CHAS (Contractor Health and Safety Assessment) accreditation for many years, however, we wanted to qualify for Safecontractor because this allows us to tender for work in a wider market other than just public sector. It's safe to say we have health and safety covered!"

Emanuel Whittaker's main business is to provide regeneration and refurbishment to a variety of local authorities and social landlords across the North West. It employs over 100 staff from its Rochdale Road head office who work across numerous construction sites in the region.

Established in 1837 the company has proved itself to have a flexible business model and this year was appointed by the RSPCA to develop a new state-of-the-art animal centre on the former Strinesdale Water Treatment to be known as the Strinesdale Centre. Work is currently under way at the site.

Lee said: "Our core business remains in the social housing sector, however, Safecontractor accreditation will enhance the company's ability to attract new contracts and its commitment to safety will be viewed positively by its insurers when the company liability policy is up for renewal."

Under the Safecontractor scheme, businesses undergo a vetting process which examines health and safety procedures and their track record for safe practice.

Those companies meeting the high standard are included on a database, which is accessible to registered users only via a website. Client organisations who sign up to the scheme can access the database, enabling them to vet potential contractors before they even set foot on site.

These clients agree that, as users of the scheme, they will engage only those who have received accreditation.

John Kinge, technical director of Safecontractor said: "Major organisations simply cannot afford to run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound health and safety policies in place and more companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that Emanuel Whittaker has done."