Bethell Construction is celebrating the achievement of a zero Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) for a full calendar year for 2013 and this brings the total period since a non-reportable accident to over 19 months. Achieving a 0% AFR is the ultimate safety goal for companies and is a particularly outstanding achievement within a ‘high risk’ industry such as construction.
Bethell are extremely proud that its continuous investment, training and promotions in safety are paying dividends and, ensuring that their workplaces remain accident-free, follows a steady downward trend since the introduction of their Behavioral Safety Programme, ‘Think Safe, Act Safe’, in 2009. Bethell employ almost 150 staff at various locations throughout the UK and their zero AFR figure also includes the safe management of hundreds of specialist subcontractors who support Bethell at site level.
Ian Madden, Bethell’s Health and Safety Director, comments “No employee has been away from work as a result of an accident which is fantastic. Accidents of any kind are terrible and can be prevented without exception if everyone promotes best practices and a strong behavioral safety culture is evident. Proactive pursuit of knowledge and sharing this through the entire company and reinforcing this message constantly is the only way to drive accident rates down.”
He continues, “Allowing accidents to happen means costs to individual’s health, family, friends, morale, work opportunities, reputation and, ultimately, profit. These are losses that we are not prepared to accept and everybody’s contribution ensures that we will not have to face such costs. However, by far the best way to prevent accidents is to have a proactive, fully-focused health and safety attitude throughout the company. The work and the message goes on!”