Motivation through engagement
Active involvement helps spread the health and safety message at Johnsons Wellfield Quarries
MOTIVATION through engagement was the theme of the health and safety days at Johnsons Wellfield Quarries (part of the Myers Group), near Huddersfield, Yorkshire, on 16–17 July, the aim of which was to encourage the 200 or so attendees to become actively involved in the days’ health and safety exercises rather than listening to lectures. The sessions were: Environmental spills; Hazard spotting; Confined spaces; Behavioural safety; Vehicle inspections; Towing; and Geotechnics.
The first day of the event was the Myers Group Day, in which many employees from the Myers Group itself (divisions of which included Johnsons Wellfield, Readymix Huddersfield, Myers Building Supplies, Myers Skip Hire and Myers Timber Supplies) took part, along with others from Liebherr, Singleton Birch, Holroyds Huddersfield Ltd, Kirklees College, UBU Roadsweepers, Sunny Bank Stone Sales Ltd, Banner Contracts and PHS Besafe.
The second day was the Minerals Products Association day, which was attended by more Myers Group staff along with others from Ballast Phoenix Ltd, Aggregate Industries, CEMEX, Hanson, Forest of Dean Stone Firms Ltd, Lafarge Tarmac, Hope Construction Materials, Marshalls, Plasmor Ltd, JCB, Lhoist UK Ltd, GSS Training Ltd, CA Blackwell (Contracts) Ltd, Bathgate Silica Sand Ltd and Browns Health & Safety.
Speaking at the event, James Berry, managing director of the Myers Group, said one of the initiatives his Group was examining was banded pay related to health and safety performance, with the aim of instilling a health and safety culture into everyone within the Group. ‘It’s about celebrating people who have a proactive attitude,’ he said.
Summing up the two-day event, Richard Noble from the HSE said: ‘I’m sure tomorrow each of you will go back to your workplace and see something that will make you say to yourself: ‘I don’t like that’. Well, don’t ignore it; tell your manager. You could be helping to save someone’s life.’
