ASPLUNDH
“ We work in an extremely high risk environment and everything I do as a managing director and everything I challenge our staff to deliver is very much driven by that [ mission statement ].”
State-of-the-art equipment isn ’ t the sole answer to safety , of course ; without good operators the best equipment , it is worthless . “ We take the qualifications , skill and competency of our staff very , very seriously ,” says Burt . “ We empower them to be out there operating independently and we need to make sure they ’ re not only technically proficient in what they ’ re doing but trained in the soft skills to be able to make smart decisions on the ground .”
Asplundh has its own warranting system for its staff and works with the industry to improve standards . “ We ’ re about whole , industry-wide safety and actively participating in utility working groups to share that information ,” says Burt .
Small wonder , then , that when new health and safety legislation came in this year , Asplundh was barely affected . “ We have a history and culture of exceeding the legislation , so for us it was a very easy transition .”
What Burt has seen changing is the client ’ s role in setting and enforcing health and safety standards . “ Our clients are stepping up . They are understanding their vital role in health and safety and understanding the first principle that we have to take reasonable steps to ensure any risk to our
66 July 2016