Lagan's high health & safety standards

Lagan Construction delivers infrastructure projects to clients from Scotland to the Caribbean, so its health and safety systems must span international requirements.

Lagan Construction delivers key infrastructure schemes in the airports, water, marine and roads sectors, with current operations requiring the employment and welfare of about 400 people on 30 sites across the world.

While on UK turf, past and present projects include London Luton International Airport, Terminal 5 at Heathrow International Airport and Bo'ness Flood Alleviation Scheme. International projects include a £7.5m runway redevelopment at Bermuda International Airport, the £13m North Coast Highway Improvement project in Jamaica and a £36m runway rehabilitation and improvement scheme at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico.

Explaining the ethos behind Lagan Construction's high performance standards, which has enabled the firm to achieve an accident frequency rate of 0.28, operational safety and training manager Nicola Ward says: "Health and safety is at the heart of the way we work at Lagan Construction. The health, safety and welfare of our people and delivering our projects in a safe environment are key to our success. On all our sites we operate a 'safety first' culture that aims to raise safety awareness in everything we do.

"At the outset of each site set-up, the entire site team is guided through all our health and safety requirements - both on the management side, including training and paperwork, and on the physical side, which includes identification of safe pedestrian routes, compound and welfare set-up and other physical issues that may occur during the contract."

She adds that the firm's commitment to continuous improvement applies equally to its people, clients and supply partners. "In terms of suppliers, we prefer to work with organisations that share our values. This means investment in their people and in communities in which they work and ethical trading policies. We also believe that the personal touch is very important in maintaining smooth running operations between businesses."

In order to manage the logistics of providing safety clothing and equipment worldwide, Lagan works with one supplier to ensure consistency. "We work with the Belfast branch of safety equipment supplier Arco to simplify and standardise the use of safety products and the central accounting process across all our sites," Ward explains.

"Shipping of safety products from the UK is essential for some Caribbean locations where sourcing of appropriate or specialist protective equipment locally can prove difficult. Our site personnel are set up as users so they can seek expert safety advice and order online. Using one supplier that is familiar with our needs affords us the peace of mind that all our sites are compliant in terms of welfare consumables and PPE requirements, even in remote locations."

Importance of training

Training is also given a very high priority in the business. Lagan has adopted a Key Performance Indicator that sets out a minimum of four training days per year for every employee. Personal development programmes are created for all employees to ensure they receive the training and development required to do the best job, and individuals work with mentors and line managers to ensure their training and career paths are aligned to the broader training requirements and strategic objectives of the company.

To monitor training, correct PPE use, environmental safety and acceptance of hard-hat and safety footwear policies, all the company's sites are formally audited at least monthly by a dedicated HSEQ department.

Audits cover all aspects of the Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Service 18001: 2007, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 management systems and procedures. The scoring system for audits on all Lagan contracts is based on a traffic light system of red, amber and green. These scores are reviewed by the board in monthly meetings.

Ward concludes: "Reinforcing the importance of health and safety at the start of each project helps to improve our general health and safety performance on site. The safety and welfare of our staff is of the highest priority - it definitely contributes to the high standard of all aspects of our performance delivery."