One of our main concerns is Health & Safety – it’s one of our core business values after all. However, it’s not just for the sake of our own employees and staff, but the trades we work alongside too.
We take the safety and wellbeing of those working on site seriously. With different trades driving projects towards one main goal, there’s absolutely no room for selfishness or only looking out for your own, which is why our processes, procedures and products are all geared to encourage safe working environments, on all the sites we’re currently working on and the entire construction industry.
Site operatives taking extra precautions wearing a life vest in case of falls into water.
Innovations in Health & Safety.
Our systems and procedures have protected the lives and safety of different trades in many different ways. From our safety netting which is installed by FASET approved and trained safety net riggers, to our VoidSafe™ Protection System which prevents operatives falling through holes in the floor, our products and services are designed to enhance safety.
Products like VoidSafe™ don’t just benefit SMD employees, but other trades too. With these purpose-made deck panels covering openings in the floor and also featuring non-slip surfaces to prevent slips, they can also improve site logistics and give other trades access to floor areas that they otherwise may have found tricky, impossible or unsafe to work on.
Our rigorously-checked safety netting once installed, is then left in place until all floor or roof deck items have been safely installed. This allows our installers who working at height able to benefit from the freedom that passive collective fall protection they give versus personal harnesses which in themselves can pose a risk if they get tangled during a fall.
SMD VoidSafe™ Protection System
Promoting safe work practices.
When it comes to safety in the workplace, we don’t just rely on our quality products – but the knowledge and wisdom our site teams have too. All site staff are CSCS accredited (including safety awareness training) with all foreman holding SSSTS certification and our in-house Health & Safety trainer carrying out regular site audits and delivering bespoke training to both new starters, current employees and even clients or suppliers during regular training modules.
Steve Orr, SMD Training Manager said, “I am not just another trainer who has a certificate to say I can tell someone how to do something properly and safely. I used to be a site fixer myself so understand from experience how lads on site think and that it’s best to talk to them in a way that whatever the topic, it sinks in and I’m not just going through the motions of what a manual may say. I believe this approach sets us apart from your typical training solution.”
Our TGN Online (Technical Guidance Notes) is a fantastic free resource that’s brimming with best practice information and details on our Health & Safety procedures, which can also be factored in during the design stage with our free Elements® Design Software.
By offering our teams this invaluable knowledge and resource, we hope to infuse our industry with the same passion for others’ safety that we have every day. Construction is without doubt a risky industry, but it shouldn’t be dog eat dog. Looking out for others on your team, on your site or involved in your project is the best way to protect lives and improve the efficiency on site too.