Health and safety is the foundation of good business. At AIS Vanguard, it informs and steers every decision to ensure that our work delivers the safest and most efficient outcomes for our people and customers.
Why is Health and Safety a Priority?
The importance of health and safety in industrial services cannot be overstated.
Health and safety is more than just a legal requisite of doing business; it’s also the right thing to do.
By creating a safety-first culture, we protect the health and safety of our team, supply chain, customers, and the communities and environments we operate in.
Protecting workers helps to reduce absences, which in turn improves individual efficiency and productivity, as well as project outcomes. It allows people to work to their best, giving them the support they need to thrive, assuring their contribution is valued and proving their safety is prioritised.
How does AIS Vanguard Ensure Health and Safety in Its Services?
As a leading multi-disciplined industrial engineering business focused on providing solutions for any lifting or transport challenges, we operate a complete health and safety management system.
There is a visible and active commitment to health and safety at all levels of the business because we recognise just how crucial it is to our reputation and our customers.
The operation of heavy lifting equipment, often on busy sites, with precious cargo and sometimes in confined or challenging environments, presents risks we have to mitigate, and we take our health and safety responsibilities seriously.
We have an impeccable safety record and hold several trusted quality safety accreditations, including ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001, to ensure best practice at all times. We are also RoSPA and British Safety Council members and hold Safe Contractor SSIP, Safe Contractor Safe PQQ and Constructionline Gold accreditations, among others.
Adherence to these widely respected industry standards and practices underpins our operations, and it’s why we’ve earned our reputation as experts in lifting and moving.
To maintain our commitment to rigorous health and safety practices, we have a variety of operational systems, procedures and training programmes in place. These include:
- Operational control
Operational control is essential to ensuring health and safety. Clear communication and an established chain of command underpin our reliable, consistent and safe working method. All projects are assigned a project manager to take full responsibility for the project – including ensuring all appropriate documentation is in place and adherence to HSE is maintained, from project outset to completion.
Control is supported further with 61 written and rigorous safe working policies, which span activities as varied as emergency planning, stopping work due to hazards on site, PPE, smoking, drugs and alcohol, modern slavery and corporate and social responsibility (CSR). These policies inform our approach to all activities and projects across all locations and are subject to regular review. They also make up AIS Vanguard’s health and safety manual, which is issued to all employees.
- Robust project planning and documentation
Project documentation is an integral part of our health and safety compliance. We undertake a full risk assessment for all projects and compile a detailed method statement that considers the site’s specific health and safety needs, the equipment and personnel involved and the logical sequence of work as it should be carried out. These documents guide our in-house teams, providing vital information about how the project should be delivered and the precautions to take. - Regular and comprehensive team training
At AIS Vanguard, we pride ourselves on our highly skilled and trained workforce. As such, all personnel are trained thoroughly in competence and health and safety best practices. Training needs analysis is conducted regularly, and skills are refreshed as required to ensure they meet our rigorous standards and customers’ expectations. Training courses and sessions are supplemented with pre and post-event briefings. All staff receive a copy of AIS Vanguard’s Health and Safety handbook, which sets out all policies and company-wide expectations. - A well-maintained in-house fleet
Our in-house machinery and lifting equipment fleet make our team fully equipped to carry out the heaviest, most complex, and technical lifts safely. Our fleet is varied and well-maintained, so we always have the right equipment for the job and can address individual project challenges and needs. - Guaranteeing supply chain standards
We expect the same high standards of our supply chain, subcontractors and agency staff as we do our in-house team. That’s why we ensure a vetted chain of supply chain partners, checking and recording their competencies against the specific requirements of each project. This ensures they have the appropriate skills, training and experience and deliver work to the same standard as the AIS Vanguard team.
What are the benefits of prioritising health and safety in your operations?
Our commitment to health and safety helps customers prioritise it in their operations. There are many benefits to doing so, including:
- Reducing risks and costs – When health and safety underpins business decisions, risks are removed from the project, reducing the costs associated with mistakes and accidents.
- Lowering employee absence rates – Comprehensive health and safety policies help to reduce accidents and accident-related employee absences. Plus, when employees are happy, healthy and valued, they are typically more productive and take more pride in their work.
- Improving reputation – When a commitment to health and safety is evident, it assures other businesses you are a responsible company to work with.
AIS Vanguard is highly committed to delivering projects in the safest and most efficient way. Thanks to our company-wide commitment to health and safety best practices, a multi-skilled and highly trained workforce and a well-maintained in-house fleet of equipment, we can ensure the highest standards on every AIS Vanguard project.
To find out more about AIS Vanguard’s commitment to health and safety and how we engrain it in every aspect of our client projects, contact us.