GPW Recruitment is one of the latest group of successful companies to join a leading edge scheme, designed to help industry improve its safety record.
The St Helens based firm recently received accreditation from SAFEcontractor, a programme which recognises very high standards of health and safety practice amongst UK contractors.
Employing 450 people, GPW is principally involved in the recruitment and selection of construction related contractors.
Specialising in the construction and engineering industries and with a £22 million turnover, GPW’s most recent clients have included major players such as Carillion and Cruden Construction.
The company’s application for SAFEcontractor accreditation was driven by the need for a uniform standard across the business.
Mark Parish; Director of GPW said,
“We have always taken the safety of all our stake holders very seriously. SAFEcontractor will allow us to demonstrate this to our esteemed client base through a recognised body. We believe that SAFEcontractor adds value to the services we provide to our clients and also a re-assurance that we are operating to the highest health and safety standards possible”.
SAFEcontractor accreditation is expected to enhance the company’s ability to attract new contracts and its commitment to safety will be viewed positively by its insurers when the company liability policy is up for renewal.
SAFEcontractor is applicable to most sectors although it is particularly relevant to manufacturing, construction, facilities management and commercial sectors, all of which are big users of contract services.
Darran Hughes; Operations Director of SAFEcontractor said, “Major organisations can no longer run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound health and safety policies”.
“More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that GPW has done. The firms’ high standard has set an example, which hopefully will be followed by other companies within the sector”.
Under the SAFEcontractor system, businesses undergo a vetting process, which examines health and safety procedures and their track record for safe practice.
Those companies meeting the high standard are included on a database, which is accessible to registered users only via a website, www.safecontractor.com.
Employer-organisations who sign up to the scheme can access the database, which enables them to vet potential contractors before they even set foot on site. These employers agree that, as users of the scheme, they will engage only those who have received accreditation.
Over one hundred and twenty major nation-wide businesses, from several key sectors, have signed up to use the scheme when selecting contractors for services such as building, cleaning, maintenance, refurbishment or electrical and mechanical work.