06 May 2014
Portakabin Achieves Top Safety Accreditation
Portakabin, the UK's leading modular building manufacturer, has received independent accreditation from Safecontractor for its consistently high standards in health and safety, giving clients and contractors further reassurance of its track record for safe performance.
Every organisation has a legal obligation to ensure its contractors operate in a safe way. Safecontractor is the fastest growing auditing scheme in the UK, which recognises excellence in health and safety management.
Under the Safecontractor scheme, Portakabin was extensively audited and its health and safety policies, procedures, documentation and track record were reviewed to demonstrate compliance. Only companies with the highest standards are awarded the accreditation.
Commenting on this latest approval, Derek Carter, Chief Executive of the Portakabin Group said, "Modular construction already offers significant health and safety benefits compared to site-based building methods. By taking a responsible and forward-thinking approach to health and safety management, we can reduce the risk of accidents and injury even further."
"Our aim is to ensure we maintain a healthy and safe working environment for all our staff, contractors, visitors and any individual affected by our operations - both at our manufacturing centre and head office in York and on every site."
"This latest independently-audited accreditation gives our customers even greater peace of mind that we have robust and best practice procedures in place across the business. The Safecontractor certification is a powerful tool and a proactive solution to reducing risk at every level and further improving business efficiency."
John Kinge, Technical Director of Safecontractor, added, "Construction clients simply cannot afford to run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound health and safety policies in place. More companies need to understand the importance of operating good risk management, as Portakabin has done. The Group's high standards have set an example which will hopefully be followed by other companies in the modular and off-site sectors."
Health and safety initiatives in place across the Portakabin Group include:
- Our overall vision is to have an accident and incident-free workplace
- There is an open door policy to health and safety, and near-miss reporting is actively encouraged
- Employees at every level are involved in writing procedures, including the production and site teams, to ensure the most effective systems are in place and that everyone is fully engaged
- Health and safety is promoted via bulletins and ongoing information campaigns to assist in creating behavioural safety awareness
- As part of its overall values-based performance culture, Portakabin is introducing safety champions and mentors to drive safe working practices across the business.
Portakabin has the reassurance of other independent accreditations which include OHSAS 18001 certification for its occupational health and safety management system, Crown Commercial Service framework, ISO 9001 for quality assurance, ISO 14001 for environmental performance, as well as Zurich, BBA, LABC, and CE approvals for its modular buildings.
For further information about modular buildings for permanent and interim applications, visit www.portanews.co.uk, email information@portakabin.co.uk or call 0845 401 0010.
Editor's Notes
1. The Portakabin Group offers a series of market-leading modular brands which includes:
- Portakabin modular buildings for permanent and interim use
- Yorkon off-site design and build solutions
- Portaloo toilet, shower and changing room facilities
- Konstructa site accommodation hire
- Foremans Relocatable Building Systems supplying highly sustainable refurbished Portakabin buildings
- Oecon Mobilraum GmbH - a manufacturer and distributor of modular buildings in Germany
2. Portakabin, Portakabin Group, Yorkon, Foremans, Portaloo, Konstructa and Oecon are registered trademarks.
3. Portakabin is a registered trademark which must only be used to refer to modular buildings that are known to have been manufactured by the Portakabin Group. Please note Portakabin is not a generic term.
4. The Portakabin Group is part of the Shepherd Group.
