Wilson James Ltd

Wilson James Ltd London Road, Westcliff-on-Sea Essex, SS0 9HR

Wilson James, provides security and logistics support services to the construction industry.

Wilson James worked with Stanhope plc and Bovis Lend Lease at a site with a peak workforce of over 1000 workers.

Why did we take action?

We wanted to provide a new service for construction workers: on-site healthcare, because we believed this was the way to:

  • provide first aid quickly and to a higher standard,
  • provide better healthcare for the workers,
  • reduce lost time,
  • Improve lifestyle awareness in workers.

What did we do?

We provided a full-time Nurse and a well equipped medical room. The Nurse provided:

  • first aid and could treat some injuries which would otherwise have meant a trip to hospital, minimising "downtime",
  • Onsite call-out - going to the affected worker on site,
  • Lifestyle "MOT" checks, letting those away from home or working long hours get help and advice without losing wages,
  • Medical advice and referral for any condition, whether from work or not. Many diseases were discovered - several cases of heart problems (one immediate admission to hospital), Weil's disease, skin growths (possibly cancerous), high blood pressure, Glaucoma (major cause of blindness), and others.

The costs

This service was part of the normal site overhead and not considered to be an additional cost.

Payback?

Yes - Saved £145,000* BUT our key business driver was to provide a valuable service to the workers, on our site. The saving was a bonus.

Business benefits

  • Reduced lost time - usually no need to go off site - even for medical advice
  • Treating workers on site saves downtime
  • Gained worker trust - the service was confidential
  • Workers felt valued - they told us so
  • Healthier, more aware workers benefit the industry
  • £145,000* saved over 10 months

Health and safety benefits

  • Less accidents - minor and reportable
  • Reduced accident frequency rate
  • Injuries treated quickly, on site
  • Service for all on site
  • Serious diseases detected


* Some assumptions had to be made about time that would have been lost, but we believe these were quite conservative.