The Byrne Group plc, a large building development firm specialising in concrete frame construction, has worked on many high-profile projects, including The Shard at London Bridge – soon to be the tallest building in Europe – the O2 Arena and the new No. 1 Court at Wimbledon.
Currently, the company is working on the 2012 London Olympic Park in Stratford, and has constructed the concrete works for the substructure and superstructure of the Olympic stadium, the media-centre car park, and several blocks of the athletes’ village.
Problems
Byrne Group wanted to safeguard the health and safety of its workers on the Olympic site by encouraging them to embrace PPE, while at the same time keep costs down. The company had experienced a high level of wastage, with wearers throwing away two or three pairs of gloves each day. Gloves didn’t fit well, became odorous and unpleasant, and hands became sweaty.
“The gloves were the bane of our workers’ lives,” explained Michelle Tilley, Byrne Group’s director for health, safety, environment and HR. “We also saw a significant number of hand injuries among workers, which, despite efforts at educating them to wear their PPE, were not decreasing. Consequently, we didn’t feel our workers were getting a good deal and Byrne certainly had expensive reduction in worker productivity.”
Solution
For the past two years, Byrne Group has been using a selection of long-lasting protective gloves from Globus. The gloves offer high levels of protection, which are underpinned by a comfortable, secure fit that encourages operatives to keep their gloves on while working.
Said Michelle: “Following our consultation with Globus’ sales and marketing director, Michael Easton, Globus developed a bespoke plan that ensured our workforce had the correct gloves in the right size for the tasks they were undertaking. They were trained and understood how much better and longer lasting the gloves were, so supported the introduction. Through working closely with our people, Globus delivered significant improvements.”
Globus conducted weekly sessions at the Olympic site to educate and train users in glove use and selection. Regular reviews are conducted to ensure improvement is sustainable and any new issues are quickly resolved.
Results
Michelle commented: “Globus has been tenacious in winning over our operatives to their gloves. They have helped workers see gloves as a valuable part of their “toolkit” and, consequently, our workers are happy, injuries have dramatically reduced, and a robust business case has showed great cost benefits to Byrne.
“Changing a culture is difficult, but we now have a culture that means our guys will not give up their gloves – they take them home and wash them, rather than throw them away, and really appreciate the difference they make to their working day. Obviously, this has the bonus of saving the company money.”
For more information on Globus’ hand-protection ranges, call 0161 877 4747; e-mail [email protected] or visit www.globus.co.uk
For the Byrne Group, call 020 8973 0200; e-mail [email protected] or visit www.byrnegroup.co.uk
