Graham writes:
Recently teams led by labour manager John Daly received several commendations from clients.
Manchester to Blackpool rail upgrade
Gangs working on the Manchester to Blackpool line were thanked by our client Siemens.
The first was an incident in Bradshaw Fields, where we are working on LOC bases on the PN21BR Manchester to Bolton phase 4 signalling upgrade. Andrew Donnelly and his team supported a member of the public who was in serious distress. The Siemens project manager said “Andrew handled this situation exceptionally well” and coped “with a completely unforeseen and potentially hazardous encounter while maintaining the safety of both his work group, the lady involved and the operational railway.”
Siemens ensured that members of the team were offered time off and counselling, but they preferred to go straight back to work to keep the project moving forward.
Photograph top left: the team being thanked by Siemens senior managers at the safety standdown day last week
From left to right:
- Sean Burdette – COSS
- Andrew Cardiff – Siemens project manager NWEP phase 4
- Alan Taylor – lookout
- Ian Hendry – civils installer
- Mark O’Leary – Siemens project director
- Lee Cavill – COSS
- Andrew Donnelly – team leader, COSS
- Jamie Burdette – civils installer (Sean and Jamie were delivering materials to the site)
In fact, this is not the first time Andy has been praised for his safety ethos: he and Dave Walsh acted quickly to protect a member of the public a few years ago while they were working on the North Lincolnshire rail upgrade project, also for Siemens, and on another occasion he supported a woman who fell ill near his worksite.
In another part of the project, Joe Atherton was thanked for sharing best safety practice in securing excavations and doing away with a trip hazard. I am impressed by his people skills; he improved the safety on site in a positive and encouraging way. Joe has been one of our trained key influencers since 2012, and he sets a great example.
In addition, the team based in Blackpool working on the installation of the new signalling each received a gift voucher and goody bag from Siemens for their safety culture, and for raising close calls and closing close calls out.
Last week, the delivery director of Manchester One called me personally to praise Joe, Andy and the teams, and to arrange a presentation at the project’s safety standdown day in Leyland on 13 April.
M5 smart motorway upgrade
In addition, the team working on the M5 junction 4a – 6 smart motorway upgrade for Balfour Beatty Vinci JV were included in the monthly ‘250 club’. This means that they scored more than 250 in the ‘safety pyramid’ score system, which assesses a series of health and safety measures including inspections, toolbox talks, inductions, briefings, and workforce involvement in health and safety. This represents a very positive attitude by the workforce, plus a lot of work for John, supported by Richard Wheeler from HSQE.
The common factor
The common factor in all these commendations is labour manager John Daly. I would like to thank him for the culture he promotes among our workforce. On many occasions I have listened to the manner in which he discusses safety with the teams, and encourages the reporting of any incident.
These examples show why we are ahead of any of our competitors with the Be Safe by Choice programme, and it is very good to see its benefits in this way.
For anyone in distress…
VGC’s charity for 2017 is Samaritans. They are available 24 hours a day to provide confidential emotional support for people who are experiencing feelings of distress, despair or suicidal thoughts.
