Fairport clock up another year of zero LTAs

Accident statistics show improving performance by company and subcontractors over last decade

HEALTH and safety has been a vital part of Lancashire-based Fairport Engineering Ltd’s workplace culture for many years, and the firm has recently released accident statistics that show an impressive and improving performance by the company and its subcontractors over the last decade.

Specialists in design and construction services to the bulk materials processing and handling industries, Fairport claim a headline performance that includes, over the last 10 years, an average of more 175,000 hours worked by some 80 members of staff with no record of any lost-time accidents (LTAs).

Moreover, Fairport’s subcontractors have delivered, on average, 110,000 working hours per year over the last decade with an annual average incidence rate of 3.0 (LTAs per 1,000 employees) – a third lower than the national incidence rate. Specifically, neither Fairport nor their subcontractors have recorded an LTA for any of the last four years (2011–2014).

In 2014 and 2013, Fairport completed capital projects worth some £50 million. During this period the company’s health and safety team managed multiple on-site workforces, totalling in excess of 100 employees and subcontractors, who concurrently constructed, completed and handed over all the works with zero reportable accidents and zero dangerous occurrences.

These projects were challenging but successfully delivered against demanding delivery schedules. According to Fairport Engineering’s operations director, Ian Tole, the key to ensuring continued safe working on site is a continuous programme of training, positive leadership and effective communication. ‘We encourage all people on our construction sites to make safe choices for themselves and for their work colleagues,’ he said.

In 2013/14 Fairport Engineering constructed a state-of-the-art recycling facility involving the management of up to 84 employees operating within an enclosed portal-frame building. Space restrictions within the building resulted in Fairport Engineering managing an installation programme for process equipment not only at mezzanine floor level, but also within the building’s roof space.

Working at height is a hazardous activity under normal outdoor ambient conditions, but in high summer the working temperature under the roof became so significant that daily health and safety briefings were delivered for this aspect of the works. As a result, in August 2013, 16,454 hours of work were undertaken without a reportable or lost-time incident; an outcome attributable to the development of, and adherence to, a work regime appropriate for elevated confined spaces.

Also in 2013, Fairport Engineering designed and constructed a lightweight aggregates plant (pictured) adjacent to the UK’s largest fossil-fuelled power station at Drax, North Yorkshire. To win this contract the company designed a novel materials-handling system to meet a competitive budget schedule, whilst mindful that their site works would need to operate in parallel with Drax’s stringent health and safety requirements.

Up to 55 people were managed on site at any one time during the construction phase generating over 91,000 hours of delivered work over a period of 10 months. During this period there were no LTAs and the project was completed on time and within budget.