Case Study: Murraywood Construction Ltd
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Formed in 1996 in Warrington, Cheshire, Murraywood Construction specialises in civil engineering and groundwork. This includes excavating and constructing foundations, installing drainage systems and preparing for services installation. Annual turnover for the past three years has averaged between £16-17 million. They employ 144 staff directly and have an excellent staff retention: 40 per cent have been with them for over six years. They currently have more than 15 contracts in the North West and North Wales ranging between £50K and £20 million. One of these is the construction of the new Greater Manchester Police headquarters near Oldham.
The problem
The challenge that the company faces is to meet the constant need to keep the job simple and accident-free, in a period of rapid development and testing requirements. Director Billy Murray says: 'We want the work to be done the right way every time, with policies to ensure the safety of our men and the quality of the job. So we’ve set ourselves a problem to ‘This is what needs to be done. How can we do it safely?’
The solution
Every month a board-level health and safety meeting considers relevant topics. Workforce health and safety representative Simon Clifton receives a copy of the minutes for comment and discussion. He then conducts two open forums, known as ‘voice meetings’, each month with workers in a continuous cycle so that all workers on all sites are included every quarter. Here, workers deliver their own views on health and safety issues, procedures and training, with reference to both their own and other sites throughout the company. The next health and safety meeting then considers their comments and concerns, and instigates any necessary action.
Said Billy: ‘It’s a constant two-way process and it works well. Our maxim is that everyone has an equally important role, whether it’s the person brushing up or the operator of a 21 ton excavator. Everyone looks after each other. Management doors are always open to any worker who has a safety concern. We always listen and take the necessary action.’
Mike Walsh, project manager at the Oldham site, joined the firm at its outset as a flagger and kerber. He worked his way up to management level and values his practical industry background as a vital help assessing any safety problems specific to that area.
He quotes a number of instances where worker involvement has enabled management to act on potentially dangerous situations:
'One of our men reported a hazard involving a lot of trailing electricity leads. There were around thirty of them in a new building where a mix of tradesmen, some from other sub contractors, were working on different tasks. We noted the report, took action and set up exclusions zones and conduits for the wires, so that people wouldn’t accidentally come into contact with the cables.'
'On another occasion workers voiced their concern about the position of a crane, which was directly above their operating area. The health and safety meeting considered the situation, and decided to change the direction of the crane to remove any potential risk.'
Some of Murraywood’s operators of large plant had to complete a detailed, daily set of papers relating to risk assessment and machinery inspection requirements. They raised the matter at a forum, pointing out that the paper filling was time consuming and complex, raising the possibility of error or oversight. Says Billy: 'We resolved that by providing a pre-printed duplicate pad with response boxes, to show they’ve carried out the necessary safety and risk assessments.'
Workers and management together banned the wearing of ‘rigger’ boots. 'They now wear boots with proper ankle protection, as in the past we had men suffering ankle damage when dismounting from high vehicles,' says Simon Ball.
Ian McNicholas, a ground worker who has been with Murraywood for twelve years, commented: 'I know that if I have any problem in terms of safety I can speak directly with management and it will be resolved. If I see something which could be a safety problem I would raise it even though it was not directly related to my job, and my co-workers would do the same. We know something would be done about it.'
The outcome
Murraywood’s policy of worker involvement and engagement has paid dividends in both its safety record and workforce morale.
Says Billy Murray: 'We are working together, management and employees, with a common aim: prevention rather than reaction, education rather than dictation, and safety for everyone.
'Our accident statistics vary from year to year dependent on the number of hours worked but are generally low. This has resulted in a 50 per cent reduction in our insurance premiums annually since 2006. Our broker says that in the main, the reduction is due to the risk management that Murraywood have in place - as well as robust health and safety policies, procedures and training to help prevent accidents.'
