Balfour boosts social and safety performance

Balfour Beatty reduced its accident frequency rate (AFR), improved its environmental
performance and the diversity of its workforce last year.
Balfour's Safety, Environmental and Social Report showed a 20% improvement in the group's AFR compared with 2003. Chief executive Ian Tyler said: "In 2004, our AFR improved by 20% to 0.37 incidents per 100,000 man hours worked, excluding two minority joint ventures.
"Since 2000, our performance on this measure has improved 34%, putting us ahead of government and Health & Safety Executive targets."
However, there were fatalities last year: one in the US and four in joint ventures in Indonesia and Dubai.
Balfour's safety targets for this year are: zero fatalities; zero permanently disabling injuries; and all operating companies to aim for zero accidents and injuries and to achieve an AFR of less than 0.2 by 2010.
The group achieved its target of zero significant environmental incidents and reduced total environmental incidents by 8%.
The group's workforce en-joyed an increase in the proportion of female staff (from 16% in 2003 to 17% last year), while ethnic minorities represented 7.7% compared with 6.4% in 2003.