Our Week
This past week has marked significant milestones across our varied projects. The standout achievement is the completion and reopening of Bury Cross Garage, Gosport, more on that below! But first, here’s a summary of our wider client engagements and innovations:
- Site Compliance Inspections: We conducted thorough site visits for compliance inspections on both residential and heritage projects.
- CDM Compliance Assistance: Our support for Principal Designers continues to be robust, from new commercial and educational builds to prominent heritage projects, including Southampton’s ancient city walls and an historic manor house.
- Innovative H&S System Development: Using Monday.com, we have created automated boards for:
- Temporary works tracking
- Risk assessment, anchored to site programmes
- Statutory inspection, including a tested Friday site safety record, client feedback has been very positive so far.
- Metrics & Automation: The new trackers now allow real-time data entry via forms, populating registers automatically for easier analysis.
- Continuous Process Improvement: We are committed to refining our methods to increase client value and enhance our team’s competence. Recent discussions highlighted the importance of proportionality in documentation, balanced, understandable procedures ensure non-experts can safely follow guidance, without excessive bureaucracy for simple tasks. (A deeper dive into this topic is planned.)
- Incident Learning: We wrapped up a ‘no injury’ incident investigation, focusing on lessons learned and effective knowledge-sharing across client teams.
- Site Team Mentoring: We’re adapting our approach for some clients, now providing hands-on mentoring to empower site management teams and foster their growth in health and safety leadership.
Bury Cross Garage, Gosport – Milestone Achieved
After five years of planning, from initial vision to raising the roof and remodelling, plus a 15-month construction journey navigated through contractual hurdles, completion has been achieved! The full 13-ramp workshop is now operational. The A&S technicians are thrilled to return to their upgraded workspace, leaving behind months of complex construction and challenging conditions.
Continuous Process Improvement & Proportionality in Practice
We are continually evolving our approaches and documentation to deliver more client value and enhance our own capability. One of our recent team discussions explored the principle of proportionality, how to ensure our safe systems of work remain practical, focused, and accessible to those carrying out the tasks. We are reminded that procedures should empower, not overburden, both teams and clients; clarity and reasonableness are key. This principle was brought into sharp focus today by Leon’s observation: a worker on a roof, lacking edge protection, using a roofing ladder, but not actually on it. It’s a clear illustration of the risks that arise when safety basics are neglected or when procedures aren’t followed appropriately. Robust safety isn’t about excessive paperwork; it’s about ensuring the right planning, equipment, training, and execution, especially for tasks that seem simple or routine. As professionals, we must ask: are our controls truly protecting people, or are we hiding behind documentation? Proportionality is about making sure each safeguard is meaningful and applied where it matters most, whether for a one-hour task or a major construction milestone.
Key Lessons This Week
- Persistence pays off: Stay committed to your principles but be flexible in responding to change.
- Embrace support: Collaborate, together, we accomplish more.
- Reflect on outcomes: Celebrate successes, learn from setbacks.
Looking Forward
- Apply learnings: Take lessons from failures without undue self-criticism.
- Pursue growth: Keep striving for personal and professional improvement.
- Continuous reflection: Ask yourself daily, “Did I do better today than yesterday?”
