Call for Unified Approach
01 Dec 2004
Fountains, the specialist provider of vegetation management services wants to see a cross-industry working party, developing uniform safety standards.
Speaking at the Arboriculture Association’s 38th National Conference held at University College Chester, executive director, Peter Neighbour, said, ‘The safe way will be the most cost effective way. Safety is not a cost burden - it is a commercial necessity. The fountains approach to health and safety is the belief that safety is not an optional extra - it is essential to the way we operate.’
In a commercial environment where different standards exist in different industries, a strong corporate safety culture alone is insufficient. Mr. Neighbour said, ‘We compare performance between different business streams within the company. These comparisons have made it clear that where staff are working on our electric line clearance operations, they are significantly more likely to have an accident than those working in our rail division. This is despite the fact that there are many similarities between these operations and that both divisions operate in hazardous environments and are highly regulated.’
Referring to the structural differences between the rail and electrical industries, and the different safety standards and rules that apply in these sectors, Mr. Neighbour concluded ‘We, the service providers and our customers, can address these issues only by acting together. The Arboriculture Association should be the natural forum for service providers to drive our part of the process forward.’
‘We should look to establish a new cross-industry working party to produce a uniform set of standards and contract methodology to achieve a safe and efficient industry. We will only truly be safe when we approach the problem on a united front.’