Keeping our workforce and customers safe is our top priority and Amey’s Defence teams, in our Regional Prime South East (RPSE) contract, recently held their Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) forum aimed at improving safety and promoting the importance of compliance across the Estate.
Now in its fourth year, the six-monthly workshops bring together representatives from Amey, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and major supply chain partners who are able to use the forum to openly discuss all aspects of safety and compliance, to highlight best practice and identify areas that need focus.
Due to the current Covid-19 restrictions, this year’s forum took place virtually, with 44 attendees logging on from across the South East (SE) to take part in an online ‘Teams’ webinar.
Steve Mathews, Amey’s SHEF Specialist SE, opened the event and provided a detailed overview of safety management and shared a detailed SWOT analysis of how the South East is currently performing, using data to highlight strengths and identify weaknesses with the aim of maximising improvement opportunities.
Kate Clarke, Amey’s Head of Compliance SE, followed with a session on the importance of maintaining a compliant estate to ensure the safety of everyone working and living within the SE contract and spoke about some of the challenges that we face due to the current pandemic situation.
Richard Castell, Amey’s Operational Relationship Manager, then shared an update on Amey’s alliance with BuildForce, a UK-wide employer-led initiative who help former Armed Forces personnel find rewarding careers in the construction industry.
The event was a great success and was closed by John Riley, Operations Director SE, who said: “I am delighted that so many of our supply chain partners were able to join us. We continue to deliver more additional works to our client and customers’ year-on-year and that brings higher risk. We acknowledge this and use events like these to make sure that safety is at the heart of our decision making.”
The strong and collaborative teamwork that exists in the South East has been recognised by the Institute of Collaborative Working (ICW) who have shortlisted Amey and DIO teams as finalists in their 2020 awards under the category Public Sector/Service Sector/Defence & Security, for demonstrating effective collaborative working. The winner will be announced in December.