National Group - Case study
How National Group Ltd solidified their reputation for safety and enhanced operational efficiency across all sites.
Learn how our strategic approach to verifying and enhancing health and safety practices in the field can lead to substantial improvements in compliance, employee engagement, and overall safety culture.
The client:
National Group Ltd.
National Group Ltd is a leading provider in the construction industry and is renowned for adhering to high health and safety standards, evidenced by its ISO 45001 certification.
National Group Ltd aimed to ensure further that their proclaimed health and safety practices were not only 'theoretical' policies but were actively implemented and effective in real-world applications, especially in project locations.
The Challenges
Verification of Compliance
Consistency Across Remote Sites
Employee Engagement
Previous Consultancy Shortcomings
1. Verification of Compliance: They were unsure whether they were meeting their own high-standards and objectives for the business.
2. Consistency Across Remote Sites: Remote and disparate project sites posed unique challenges, as maintaining consistent health and safety standards across the sites required more oversight and adaptation to varying local conditions.
3. Employee Engagement: There was a need to enhance employee engagement and culture regarding safety practices to ensure that they were not only followed but valued by the team (not just a few individuals).
4. Previous Consultancy Shortcomings: The client had previously engaged in another health and safety consultancy but felt that the services provided did not contribute to continuous growth or tangible improvements in health and safety in practice. This raised concerns about the effectiveness of external advisories and the adaptability of their recommendations to practical, on-site applications.
Our solutions
Conducting Culture and Engagement Sessions
Verifying Existing Practices
Health and Safety Auditing in Remote Sites throughout New Zealand.
1. Conducting Culture and Engagement Session: Through the utilisation of partner tools, Advanced Safety conducted a culture and engagement session, providing a clear, easily understandable snapshot of the current health and safety maturity across National Group’s operation.
This review helped identify strengths and highlighted clear, prioritised actions needed to support effective health and safety governance, leadership, and strategic execution and facilitated a deeper understanding among the organisation about where the company stood and what steps were required to advance their health and safety practices.
2. Verifying Existing Practices: Advanced Safety conducted thorough reviews of the current health and safety protocols in comparison to the benchmark of HSWA 2015 and good practices. This included document reviews, staff discussion on site, and observational assessments.
3. Health and Safety Audit in Remote Sites: Advanced Safety conducted audits to various remote sites to conduct in-depth safety audits.
These audits were not only compliance checks but also opportunities to identify practical challenges in implementing the protocols and areas for improvement.
Listen to what Johnny Waite, Operation Director at National Group, has to say about the experience working with Advanced Safety.
"If you're just looking after your own health and safety, you can easily be steering well away from what is considered best practice. I would definitely recommend Advanced Safety services".
Johnny Waite
Operations Director, National Group
Outcomes
The capability assessment led to several positive outcomes:
1. Enhanced Compliance and Safety Practices: The audits and verification processes helped clarify discrepancies between written policies and field practices. This led to the implementation of several improvement initiatives to ensure protocols align with practical, on-site demands and compliance standards.
2. Standardised Safety measures Across Sites: Through continuous monitoring and the establishment of a feedback loop form the remote site audits, safety measures were standardised across all sites, leading to fewer incidents and great compliance with health and safety standards
3. Addressing Previous Consultancy Inefficacy: The proactive and hands-on approach of our audits and engagement session addressed the gaps left by the previous consultancy, providing actionable insights and fostering a culture of continuous improvement in health and safety practices with Advanced Safety now providing national coverage to National Group.
Conclusions
This case study exemplifies how our strategic approach to verifying and enhancing health and safety practices in the field can lead to substantial improvements in compliance, employee engagement, and overall safety culture.
By aligning theoretical policies with practical implementation and addressing previous shortcomings, the client not only solidified their reputation for safety but also enhanced operational efficiency across all sites.
This project highlights the importance of independent verification, the adaptability of safety practices, and continuous improvement in maintaining the highest standards of workplace safety and compliance.
Advanced Safety have since become a continual third party support to National Group offering routine workplace audits throughout New Zealand and delivering safety talks, training and reporting to the business on a regular basis.
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