Health & Safety
We work at height, over live railways and highways, and in operational industrial plants. Getting everyone home safe is the first measure of every project we deliver. Our approach combines a certified management system with a behavioural safety culture where every person on site is expected to speak up and stop work if something is not right.
Our safety performance
- Accident Frequency Rate of zero in 2025/26, down from 0.29 the previous year
- RoSPA Gold Medal, awarded for six consecutive years of Gold status
- Occupational health and safety management system certified to ISO 45001
Health and safety performance is reviewed by our Board every month alongside environmental and social KPIs.
SAFE-T Golden Rules
Our six Golden Rules are the visible core of our safety culture. Every operative, supervisor and manager works to them on every site.
- Be fit for work
- Use work equipment safely
- Use fall protection when working at height
- Follow the plans and permits in place
- Wear the correct PPE for the task
- Report unsafe events and conditions
How we build a safety culture
Our processes are simple, accessible and clear about who is accountable. Five principles shape how we manage safety:
- Collaboration: we share best practice and lessons learnt across our teams, clients and supply chain
- Management: competent, approachable managers who listen to people at every level
- Behaviours: we help people understand how their own actions affect their safety and the safety of others
- Technology: we adopt new apps, tools and equipment where they reduce risk
- Continual improvement: we monitor the controls we put in place and refine them, rather than closing an issue once it is addressed
In practice on our sites
- Worksafe refusal to work system: anyone can refuse work if they believe their safety, or someone else's, may be compromised
- Close call reporting: we encourage reporting of near misses and unsafe conditions so we can spot trends early
- Safety tours and audits: our HSQE team and senior managers visit sites to talk with people at all levels, not just check paperwork
- Open forum shutdown days: time set aside to hear concerns and ideas directly from the workforce
- Safety campaigns, workshops and briefings: targeted campaigns, daily briefings and toolbox talks keep key risks in front of people
Health and wellbeing
We support mental health in line with the principles of the Government's Thriving at Work review. Working with the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity, we provide Mental Health First Aiders across our sites, run wellbeing awareness campaigns and promote a confidential external helpline. Our occupational health programme includes medicals and health surveillance for safety-critical roles.
Health and safety training
Every employee works towards a target of one day's training for every 40 days worked. Our Training and Wellbeing team manages training, apprenticeships, competence assessments and medicals, and our in-house technical trainers are CITB and CISRS qualified.
From induction to refresher
All new starters complete internal health and safety training at induction, and site-based operatives hold a CSCS card before starting work. Every site runs its own induction, daily safety briefings and toolbox talks. Operatives complete an annual internal refresher plus role-specific external refreshers such as asbestos awareness.
We retrain sooner when legislation, standards or procedures change, when new equipment or methods are introduced, or when an audit or investigation identifies a need.
Tracking competence
Power BI dashboards track expiring qualifications, mandatory and interim assessments, medicals and restrictions, drug and alcohol testing and professional development, so no one works on site without the competence the task requires.
