A-one+, a leading service provider for the Highways Agency, is celebrating a safety landmark after it worked for more than two million hours in Area 12 without a reportable injury, disease or dangerous occurrence (RIDDOR).
The company, which is a joint venture between CH2MHill, Colas and Costain, is the service provider for the Highways Agency for three managing agent contracts in England, including Area 12 in Yorkshire and Humberside.
Area 12 is one of the largest and busiest road networks in the UK comprising 494km of motorways and trunk roads and over 1,400 structures. Four hundred staff are directly employed , as well as a supply chain comprising over 100 suppliers. The main areas of responsibility include roads and structures maintenance schemes, improvement schemes, routine maintenance, severe weather service and incident response.
The end of June 2014 saw Area 12 celebrate this landmark achievement, which surpasses the 1.5 million hours reached in January 2014 and more than 430 days RIDDOR free.
According to the company, very few construction projects achieve one million hours let alone double this.
Andy Jamieson, managing director for A-one+, said: “This can only be achieved through engagement and having the right culture by all involved on the project, including the supply chain with full commitment of the Highways Agency as the client.”
A-one+ has put this success down to a wide number of initiatives including the implementation of a variety of road worker safety initiatives:
• Development of the award winning Intellicone system with 24 sets in use in Area 12
• Installing CCTV on traffic managment vehicles
• Instigating fixed taper positions to avoid road worker crossings
• Taking a lead to support the Highways Agency and TRL (Transport Research Laboratory) to work on trials, such as innovative taper, simplified traffic management and removal of road lamps
• Video analysis of traffic management layouts to improve designs
• Full review of dual and single vehicle working;
• Provision of body worn CCTV
• A live lane working review.
The Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) is a further indicator as to how well safety is being managed in Area 12, with no measure being rated less than 8/10 (Excellent) and in the last 12 months, scores achieved of 10/10 (Innovative) for ‘Securing everyone’s safety’ and 9/10 (Exceptional) for ‘Caring for the workforce’.
A safety steering committee meeting is held quarterly and is chaired by the general manager, with A-one+ also investing in a strict policy of drugs and alcohol testing at weekly network inductions, including all new supply chain employees and new starters.
