Sign 2000 recently received renewal of the accreditation from SAFEcontractor, a programme which recognises very high standards of health and safety practice amongst UK Contractors.
Sign 2000 currently employ 75 people dealing with all aspects of signage, boasting a £6 million turnover. The organisation’s most recent clients have included major players such as Post Office, Whitbread, O2, Santander, and Tata Group.
The company’s re application for SAFEcontractor accreditation was driven by the need for a uniform standard across the business, to compliment the organisations other accreditations which include ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, and Membership of the British Safety Council.
SAFEcontractor accreditation will continue 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 food manufacture, property, facilities management, retail and leisure sectors, all of which are big users of contract services.
John Kinge, Head of Risk at 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 Sign 2000 continues to do. The firm’s 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 the website, www.safecontractor.com.
Employer-organisations who sign up to the scheme can access the database, enabling 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 fifty major nationwide 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.