Gwynedd Health and Safety Construction Student Awarded Best in UK

Posted by Nicola Moore on with 0 Comment

Centre for Infrastructure, Skills & Technology (CIST) – Busnes@LlandrilloMenai along with NEBOSH delivery partner Delyn Safety UK Ltd are delighted to announce that Tesni James has been awarded The Ian Whittingham Award for the Best Candidate in the NEBOSH Health and Safety Management for Construction (UK).

 

Tesni achieved the award after gaining 93% in the exam, the highest score in the UK for the year.

Tesni chose to complete the NEBOSH Health and Safety Management Construction (UK) qualification due to her interest in health and safety and the high-risk nature of working within the construction industry.  As a Director at Tom James Construction Services Ltd, the family business, along with her husband, people’s health and wellbeing has always been important to Tesni.

 

Tesni explains: “Staff wellbeing is of the highest importance to us and ensuring that we are doing everything that we can to promote safety in the workplace and that employees go home each day safely to their families. Being able to complete this standard of health and safety training over the last two years has made it possible for me to further develop and become competent in managing the health and safety side of the business.

 

“We as a company, are accredited with ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001. We have a great team and I think that positive health and safety culture starts from management’s positive attitude. I am always eager to learn and very keen on employee’s development through training, gaining experience to become competent in all roles.”

 

Tesni applied for the NEBOSH course using the Personal Learning Account (PLA), a programme funded by Welsh Government which allows those who meet the criteria to access free courses and professional qualifications that develop skills and help individuals progress in their career.  Access to PLA funding gave Tesni the confidence to leave her previous work as a Social Worker to work full-time in the family business and develop her career within the Construction industry.

 

On asking how it felt to win the award Tesni said: “It feels amazing! I didn’t believe the news that I was the highest achiever when I first read the email.  Coming from a small town and running a small family business, it feels unreal.  I am so proud; I am a true believer that if you put the time, effort and learning into anything, you can achieve your goal.

 

“I must admit, it also felt great being a woman winning the Award for the best candidate in the NEBOSH Health and Safety Management in Construction Certificate, as it is well documented that it is only between 11-15% of women currently working within the construction industry, and I have now added to that statistic.”

 

Tesni added: “The flexibility with studying the courses online has been great for me living in a rural area, I could complete full days of training, weekly online from home. The information learned through the course was really interesting, and it is always good reflecting on good and bad practice and discovering new and different ways of completing construction work. I have had the pleasure of meeting several Delyn Safety Trainers who have supported me in completing my courses and I am eager to continue with my studies and continue to make health and safety a positive priority in our business with our great team.”

 

Tesni has now progressed to studying the NEBOSH Diploma for Occupational Health and Safety Management Professionals with Delyn Safety UK Ltd and also has the NEBOSH Environmental Certificate in her sights as the company is also concentrating on reducing carbon emissions.

 

Mike Joy, Delyn Safety UK Ltd Managing Director said of Tesni’s success, “Everyone at Delyn Safety is extremely proud of Tesni.  She thoroughly deserves this accolade following the amount of time and effort that she puts into her study.  It is a pleasure to watch Tesni’s journey and to see how much she cares about the health and safety of her employees.”

 

Gareth Hughes, Centre Manager CIST & Innovation added: “Tesni is an inspiration to all. It is fantastic to see that the Personal Learning Account has been utilised to support Tesni through her journey in the construction sector and look forward to supporting her in the future.”

 

If you are interested in undertaking a NEBOSH qualification, then you can find out more here including details of applying for PLA.   

 

Read Tesni’s case study here:  Management teams must lead by example and practice what they preach – NEBOSH

Keeping your new starters safe

Posted by Delyn Safety on

January might be all about fresh starts and New Year’s resolutions but there’s definitely a sense of new beginnings in September too. For lots of people it’s a time of change; as well as all the children moving into their new forms or schools, there are also many school and further education leavers about to move into jobs.

If you’re one of the businesses taking on new starters, you’ll probably be thinking about their induction. There’s always a lot to cover; inductions provide an introduction to the company as well as explaining terms and conditions of employment, policies and procedures that apply when you’re in (or want time off from!) work, employee facilities…the list goes on.

And one item on the list that’s absolutely essential is the health and safety induction. There will be some environments where it’s obvious that in depth safety induction training is required straight away. But in a low risk environment, the need may not feel as immediate. Yet without question there are always hazards that everyone must be aware of from the moment they start.

Bear in mind that one of the most at-risk groups for accidents or incidents is new starters.  It’s likely they’ll have little to no experience of working in any workplace, let alone yours, and it’s very possible they will never have had any formal health and safety training at all. So even in low risk environments it’s really important that a full health and safety induction is carried out early on.

What should you include in your Health and Safety Induction?

You’ll need to cover the generic issues that apply to all employees; for example your company’s health and safety policies and procedures. You must make new starters aware of what to do in emergency situations and what to do in the event of injury. Your induction will also need to make new starters aware of all the specific risks and hazards they may encounter in their new role and what they must do to minimise them. You’ll also need to make them aware of their responsibilities when it comes to working safely to avoid endangering others.

Beyond the Induction

The induction’s a vital starting point but it’s very likely that, to fully understand all their safety responsibilities and how to work safely, you’ll need to provide your new employees with further training within the first few weeks and months. Even in low risk environments like offices you must make sure health and safety remains at the top of the agenda. Hazards like fires are a risk to all so it’s worth considering getting new starters to attend a course that covers the basics of fire safety; subjects covered will include topics like the importance of fire drills, the employee’s role in fire prevention and what to do if a fire breaks out.

And consider how many fire extinguishers you have versus how many employees you have who know how to use them safely – then think about providing your new starters with some practical training (and your current employees too while you’re at it!). Delyn Safety can run practical fire extinguisher training and other fire safety courses at your premises; contact us to discuss your requirements.

Following on from that, there are plenty of excellent courses available as your new starters become more established and need to further develop their health and safety awareness and knowledge. If you need to arrange further safety training, or could benefit from some advice about suitable courses, get in touch with us and we’d be delighted to help.