Bondeck

Bondeck received an unexpected boost this week. A contract we are undertaking for a timber frame installer in Watford increased in value after the Principal Contractor refused to allow bean-bags on site. Bondeck was to provide safety decking for the fitting of roof-trusses only, but after the PC’s ruling we are now providing decking for the entire build.

This is in line with the HSE’s “hierarchy of safety” where working platforms sit at the top in terms of providing fall-prevention as opposed to the fall-arrest/mitigation provided by bean-bags.

Several of our clients have now insisted on replacing air-bags for the installation of concrete planking and now use safety-decking for this task and, at the same time, providing brick-layers with a platform for preventing falls into the building.

Tom Maunders - Bondeck’s Assistant Contracts Manager is to be congratulated on passing his Scaffold Inspection Course this month.

The course, one of a raft of courses for Bondeck’s directors, managers, team leaders and operatives is part of our ongoing commitment to continual professional development for all company employees.

Next for Tom is Part II of his four day first aid course. Tom was not available for commment when asked if he was looking forward to his next assignment with “Resus-Annie”. (In line with PPE requirements we have offered to provide a blindfold!)

Image left: Resus-Annie is looking keen!!

Keeping us safer or a licence to print money?

Anything that makes us work in a safer way is welcome but with a so many schemes including CHAS, CQMS, SMAS, Safecontractor, Link-Up etc etc it feels like you can’t turn a corner these days without bumping into yet another safety accreditation scheme and new ones seem to appear daily.  Why? Because these schemes are big business, particularly if your sales force manages to sell into a major developer or client. Every contractor without an in-house accreditation system has a favourite scheme, most of which are identical in all but name and each claiming to be the last word in accreditation schemes.

Having passed CQMS and SMAS Bondeck and our sister company Bond Brick are awaiting the results of our CHAS assessments. In these days of reduced staff and belt tightening we can’t be the only company that questions the need to answer the same questions and produce an identical forest of paperwork for each of these assessments.

We have also noticed that many of the schemes are now introducing an “enhanced status” level within their scheme (for a price of course). Safety schemes have become a micro industry in themselves and sub-contractors are also spinning off work to consultants to assist them with their accreditation.

This duplication is a waste of time and money and at last something is being done about it. The new Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) umbrella scheme, despite the acronym sounding like a new social benefit scheme, should do away with the need to duplicate accreditation by providing an ISO9000 style qualification. Once attained, accreditation to SSIP (through one of its accreditated auditing bodies) will be recognised by all contractors. In other words, passing one scheme will be good enough for everyone (in theory).

The scheme is in its infancy but John Murphy of CHAS is chairing the new forum and the HSE is lending its support.  Let’s hope that things move quickly. After all, the fact that so many schemes need to be passed may, in some cases, be taking resources away from actually monitoring ongoing safety performance.