KIER Harlow has achieved an impressive one million accident free man-hours as part of its ongoing zero AIR (accident incident rate) initiative, designed to send every operative home safely at the end of each working day.

The company has a long-standing focus on health & safety and strives for the safest working environments for all employees. The zero AIR scheme involves the entire workforce and encourages everyone to get involved in achieving the best possible score – zero.

Across Kier Harlow strategies have been brought in to reduce incidents, reduce costs and make the overall working environment safer. A strong commitment to health & safety from all levels of management has ensured the entire workforce is working safely, with accident reporting procedures closely adhered to.

New ways of working have been introduced, including the implementation of an improved risk assessment process, robust on-site inspections and using the in-house occupational therapy team to carry out health checks and prevent long-term injury. Furthermore, the company has invested in additional health & safety training to meet increased standards of compliance as well as ongoing licensed training and general health & safety awareness, equating to 278.5 training days over the last 12 months.

Kier Harlow operations director, John Phillips, said: “It is imperative for a company of our size to have strong health & safety practices in place, especially with the building repair and maintenance work we do. Our team has worked diligently to ensure the .
“While it is fantastic to have reached our target and we are proud of this achievement, our main priority is the safer working environment we have been able to create for all our employees thanks to the implementation of a variety of health & safety initiatives. By encouraging our employees to be involved with meeting the objectives to lower hazards we’ve been able to reach our goal, which ultimately benefits our clients and local community too.”

Leader of Harlow Council, Cllr Mark Wilkinson, said: “I would like to congratulate Kier Harlow on this achievement. With the important work that Kier Harlow does in the community it is imperative that there are procedures in place to keep the workforce safe and that employees are involved in improving the safety of the environment they work in.”

Kier Harlow has reaped the rewards of an improved focus on health & safety as earlier in the year it was awarded with ROSPA Gold and was instrumental in achieving British Safety Council accreditation for the whole of the south region of the company.