Health & Safety

The safety and wellbeing of our people and communities is our number one priority.
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We're Safer Together – Zero Harm

At SES we strive for zero harm, and are proud of our industry-leading safety record, with a performance well above the industry average.

Safety is, and always will be, our number one priority; the safety and welfare of our people can never be taken for granted.

Our future success in growing our business relies on delivering quality projects, on time, on budget and above all, safely.

Everyone, regardless of job role, has an important part to play in executing our Zero Harm strategy; and we all have a responsibility to ensure the safety and welfare of our colleagues, our site operatives, and of the people within the communities in which we work.

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AWARD-WINNING SAFETY RECORD

SES is proud to stand out from the crowd and its well-known approach to health and safety is already a benefit to not only its employees, but the industry in general.

By working together, looking out for one another and having the confidence to challenge unsafe behaviours and conditions, acting when we feel something doesn’t look or feel safe, we will achieve Zero Harm.

In 2003, SES became the first Building Services Company to achieve OHSAS 18001:1999 certification from the British Standards Institute. This was followed in 2005 by achieving ISO 14001:2004 certification. The Company is now certified to ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 by BM Trada.

In February 2020, for the 24th consecutive year SES was awarded the British Safety Council’s International Safety Award in recognition of our commitment to keeping our workers and workplaces healthy and safe.

In March 2020, SES achieved an unprecedented result in achieving three awards from RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) in our very first year of submitting.  We achieved a Gold award for both the London & South East and Midlands & South West regions and a Silver award for Prism Offsite Manufacturing, based in Coventry.

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

The Health and Wellbeing of our people is extremely important to us. We are committed to keeping people healthy, motivated and engaged at work. We truly believe that a healthy workplace has a positive impact on the personal wellbeing of our people, their safety and their productivity. We aim to ensure that no one suffers any harm to their health whilst at work.

Our primary focus is on:

  • Keeping our people healthy and monitoring them to ensure any health conditions that they already have are not made worse by their work. Where people are absent from work, we will help them return in a safe and timely manner, and if able to remain in work by managing any individual health issues
  • Preventing ill health and disease by making our workplace and work activities healthier. People should not be exposed to any substances or tasks during their working day that could affect their health. Our processes focus on removing such risks
  • Promoting improvements and lifestyle changes that support people both physically and mentally at work and at home. We provide our people with access to a range of benefits to support them and help them to maintain a happy and balanced work life.

MENTAL HEALTH IN CONSTRUCTION

 

Workplace health and mental wellbeing matter. In 2019, Group was awarded Bronze in MIND’s Wellness Index Awards. This award is given to employers who have started their journey towards better mental health at work by developing and implementing initiatives that promote positive mental health for staff.  This was the first time the business entered for the accreditation, which was based on an all-staff survey in December 2018. Building on its outcomes, further research was carried out to identify the key areas of employee concern and awareness.

 

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MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AIDERS

By the end of 2019, Group had trained 273 employees as Mental Health First Aiders and had established a network of 30 regional Mental Health First Aider Champions. The Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs) work across the UK to listen to and provide guidance on the available support to struggling colleagues. Over the last twelve  months, research has been undertaken to measure the impact of these MHFAs. It shows that 95% of them have used and applied their skills since their training, dealing with a wide range of issues such as depression, bereavement, financial difficulties, bullying, harassment, anxiety, work-related stress, personal relationships, domestic abuse and people having suicidal thoughts.

This research is helping to drive communications around mental health, suicide awareness, stress and fatigue, and work/life balance. During 2019 there was a learning and development programme provided to Safety, Health and Environment advisors to equip them with the skills to run stress management workshops and provide ‘Occupational Health in Construction’ training to colleagues.

“We are restless in our pursuit to inspire the behaviours that keep people safe from harm and which protect and support their mental health.”

John Dunne
Group Safety, Health, Environment and Quality Director