Member Article

NW firm setting new safety records

A North West based gas pipeline specialist is helping its group to set new records for safe working.

Fastflow Energy Services (FES), which is part of the Fastflow Group, has completed 1.2 million hours of work since the last lost time incident – a minor foot injury – back in March 2012.

The company, which has its headquarters in Goldborne, near Warrington, carries out specialist high pressure pipeline diversion and installation works on the gas networks throughout the country for clients such as National Grid and Cadent Gas. During peak times it has up to 300 employees and sub contractors working on site.

Safety, Health and Environmental Manager, Steven Fletcher, said: “We have put a lot of effort into instilling the importance of safety in the workforce. Their own wellbeing and that of the communities and environments in which they work are paramount.

“Much of what we do entails an element of risk and so we have to do everything we possibly can to minimise this. I am delighted to see that these efforts are paying dividends but just because the results are encouraging, we will not be lowering our guard.”

FES initiatives have included the development of a safe grinding course, delivered to employees and sub contractors, for which the company hopes to gain Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) accreditation.

“We felt improvements could be made to the way of working but when we approached various industry bodies, we found no specific training existed, so we developed our own,” added Fletcher: “Now we plan to get it adopted as industry standard.”

Overall, the Fastflow Group has worked 3.3 million hours without a lost time incident. DW Support Services, which carries out property repairs and maintenance from an Oxfordshire base, has amassed 1.2 million working hours and Fastflow Pipeline Services, in Washington, which provides water management across networks in North East England and Scotland, has reached half a million safe working hours.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Dobbie .