Clearview National August 2019 - Issue 213 | Page 76

PROUD SPONSOR OF
GLASS & SEALED UNITS EXTRA
Glass & Sealed Units Extra
Why health and
safety matters
Edgetech has just invested £250,000 on improving
Health and Safety at its Coventry HQ. For a firm
that’s always placed employee wellbeing at the top
of its priorities list, that’s nothing unusual. Head of
Operations John Stark explains the Edgetech health
and safety ethos – and why it’s so important.
» » IT’S SOMETHING THAT’S
thankfully died down in recent years – but for
a time, it was almost fashionable to complain
about health and safety.
On the TV, in the press, and in everyday life
more generally, it was common to hear people
attacking ‘health and safety culture’ – and
spreading harmful myths about the government
banning everything from park benches to
playing conkers. But in reality, health and safety
has had an overwhelmingly positive impact.
The statistics speak for themselves.
In 1969, 513,000 people suffered serious
injuries or tragically died in the workplace.
Fifty years on, those numbers have been
drastically reduced. The Health and Safety
Executive estimates deaths at work have fallen
by a staggering 85% since 1974.
Hundreds of thousands of people have
avoided often life-limiting injuries and
thousands of lives have been saved – thanks to
tireless efforts to make the British workplace a
much safer place to be.
‘an overwhelmingly
positive impact’
£250,000 INVESTMENT
At Edgetech, health and safety is at the
heart of everything we do. It’s a consideration
that informs every business decision we
take, and something we constantly challenge
ourselves to improve.
As the latest step in that ongoing process,
we’ve spent £250,000 to further improve
health and safety in our Coventry factory.
Some of that investment has been spent
upgrading the ovens we use in the spacer bar
manufacturing process. Previously, the oven
doors had to be manually opened and closed
by a member of staff – something which clearly
had potential to endanger factory workers, even
if our meticulous health and safety procedures
meant no accidents ever occurred.
But when it comes to employee safety,
complacency isn’t an option. That’s why we
decided to act. Now, the doors are activated
remotely. The operator uses a console a safe
distance away to open and close them, which
significantly reduces the chance of injury.
Protective cages utilising light curtains have
now also been added to the factory lamination
reels, placing a crucial barrier between staff
and moving machinery.
OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
AND DOING THE RIGHT THING
It goes without saying – a quarter of a
million pounds is a lot of money. We could
have easily decided to not to spend it. But
we chose to invest it – and have continuously
chosen to invest over decades – for three key
reasons.
One, because we have a moral
responsibility to protect our valued employees
and make Edgetech a safe, rewarding place
to work.
Two, because it’s a critical part of our
business creed - to continuously improve and
innovate, exemplify safe and healthy living,
and, finally, to do the right thing.
And three, because we want to offer our
customers a reliable, consistent service, and
that requires a factory that’s working at
optimum efficiency. Injuries equal factory
downtime, and downtime equals delays,
longer lead times, and, potentially, missed
deadlines.
But when it comes to health and safety, it
takes more than just investment to produce
fantastic results. It needs an outstanding
company culture, that encourages everyone in
the business to strive for a safer workplace.
That’s exactly what we’ve tried to achieve
with TruSafety – our employee-led safety
initiative that gives staff a forum to raise site
safety concerns and make suggestions for how
safety could be improved.
By involving every single Edgetech
employee in the health and safety process,
and giving them a stake in making the work
environment better for everyone, we’re
confident we’re building one of the safest
workplaces in British glass and glazing.
www.edgetechig.co.uk
76 » AUG 2019 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M