health and safety



 
commitment
Achieve zero harm
milestone
Achieve a lost time injury frequency rate of 0.5 and total recordable case frequency rate of 1

"We must be vigilant in our focus on our own safety, and the wellbeing of colleagues and contractors. Tarmac is a business where no job is done unless it can be done safely."

Martin Riley, Senior Vice President, Materials

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We’re committed to achieving zero harm through our ethos of ’ Work Safe Home Safe’ which has an emphasis on continuous improvement and a culture that places the health and wellbeing of our people and all other interested parties at the centre of what we do.
Providing a safe and healthy working environment for employees, contractors and wider communities is fundamental to building our future. We are committed to ensuring the safety, health and wellbeing of everyone connected with our business and in 2017 launched a Work Safe Home Safe initiative which underpins everything Tarmac sets out to achieve.

highlights

1.19
Total Recordable Case Frequency Rate (TRCFR)
MPA Safety Award
Winner: Occupational Road Risk Award
0.51
Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR)
Safety

We monitor and report the safety performance of all of our operations and include employees, contractors and hauliers in our reporting. Across our business operations in 2018 our Total Recordable Case Frequency Rate (TRCFR) was 1.19 incidents for every million hours worked. There were 33 recordable incidents across the business, compared to 28 in 2017. We remain committed to further driving continuous improvement to reduce rates and achieve our commitment to zero harm through our ethos of Work Safe Home Safe. Our Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) was 0.51 in 2018, similar to the 0.49 achieved in 2017 with the total lost time injuries reported at 14 during the period.  

Our continued focus on improving health and safety performance was recognised at the Mineral Products Association (MPA) Health & Safety Awards 2018, for excellence in both projects and personal contributions. Tarmac’s Building Products business also celebrated winning the reducing occupational road risk safety award for their innovative ‘void guard’. This guard was developed to increase the stability of lightweight blocks during transport to the customer. 


Health Safety Roadmap -2021


Our strategy for improving health and safety and achieving our commitment to zero harm is outlined in our 2021 Health and Safety Roadmap and focuses on four strategic pillars:

1. Leadership and culture
Setting the standards, leading by example, training and developing knowledge and competence of frontline supervisors.

2. Management systems
Continuing to embed our health and safety management systems and controls across the business. And managing the transition to the international occupations health and safety standard ISO 45001.

3. Communication
Maintaining a robust health and safety communications framework. Encouraging shared learning and preventive action following an incident.

4. Assurance and governance
Establishing risk / opportunities registers. Focusing on root cause and streamlining management review and reporting tools.

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement and collaborative working continue to be essential elements for improving our health and safety performance. In 2018 our safety leadership interaction programme was extended to our senior leadership teams. This programme placed a greater focus on visible felt leadership and improving employee engagement at all levels across the Tarmac business. In addition, our wider employee engagement and Face to Face interaction programme (safety visits and interactive safety conversations) continue to provide benefits and will be used as a key measure again in 2019.

Tarmac Safety Park

2018 saw us start off work on an industry leading Safety Park that will become a new bespoke facility for the training and induction of all new Tarmac operational employees. The park will provide essential classroom and practical training resources to support learning and development of operator competence, helping to embed the CRH 16 Life Saving Rules and Tarmac health and safety standards. The park will allow new employees to gain hands-on, practical experience in a realistic workplace setting but under controlled conditions.

Group Wide Safety Campaigns

From November 2018 to January 2019 along with the rest of the CRH group we implemented health and safety campaigns with a specific focus on core safety related topics including contractors, hauliers, isolation and also mobile phones. A responsible use approach of mobile phones was introduced across Tarmac and was supported by extensive employee communications and engagement at all levels to ensure the new requirements were fully understood and applied in the correct way.

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One Card


One card, a 2018 innovation for our business has had a significant impact on our competency management of our drivers’ and contract hauliers and ensuring that training records are all up to date. OneCard is a smart card system that holds individual driver records, such as driving licence, site inductions and training competency, in a central database. All drivers / contract hauliers now hold an individual photo ID card which is swiped at weighbridges and validated before the driver can load. Cards can also be swiped by the mobile transport team and a driver’s competency confirmed on the spot. This has removed the need for paper-based records and simplifies the management of our haulage fleet competency. We have rolled out this system across our Materials business and have over 1,100 cards in circulation with more than 6,000 driver checks having taken place during the year.


Health & Safety Engagement Week

In June 2017, all Tarmac staff took part in our annual Health & Safety Engagement Week. The Week is aimed at building on our day to day safety activities by taking extra time out to engage in a range of health and safety related activities. Topics covered during the week included contractors, hauliers, work at height, isolation and occupational health. The week also saw the launch of our new health and safety ethos ‘Work Safe Home Safe’ which will continue to be embedded in 2018.

Health and Safety Leadership

The Tarmac Health and Safety Leadership team model was further revised in 2017 to directly involve Senior Directors of each business unit to encourage greater levels of accountability and decision making. The business continues to focus on zero harm with the specific aim of coordinating a strategic approach and fostering ownership from within business around the health and safety challenges that it faces.
Employee Engagement

Worker engagement and collaborative working continue to be essential elements of driving our health and safety performance and for us to realise our commitment to achieving zero harm. In 2017 the safety leadership interaction programme continued with senior management teams focusing on improving employee engagement at all levels across the Tarmac business. In addition our wider employee engagement and Face to Face interaction programme continues to provide benefits and will be measured as a leading indicator in 2018.
Life Saving Rules

During 2017, Tarmac continued to embed the CRH Life Saving Rules across all operations and review Health and Safety standards to fully reflect key operating requirements. To reinforce the life saving rules, Tarmac in line with CRH requirements commenced four separate campaigns focusing on core issues including contractor management, occupational health, supervisors and transport safety.

Mates in Mind aims to raise awareness, address the stigma of poor mental health and improve positive mental wellbeing in construction and related industries across the UK
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Health

The health of all our employees is a fundamental priority for Tarmac. Throughout 2018 we’ve focused on raising awareness of the importance of mental health and wellbeing within the workplace and at home. We have delivered a series of campaigns on a range of mental health topics at offices and operational sites to promote awareness and discussion and to challenge accepted norms regarding mental health and wellbeing. Our work on raising awareness of mental health and promoting open discussions is further supported by our commitment to Mates in Mind and the Tarmac employee assistance line designed to provide impartial and confidential support on any topic.

RoSPA Award

Tarmac has been recognised for its occupational health and safety activities with an achievement award in the 2019 RoSPA Awards. The award is recognition of the efforts of all at Tarmac to improve safety, health and wellbeing in 2018 at work and at home and recognises our collaboration with contractors and other interested parties on this important issue. We are exceptionally proud of this achievement and will look to build upon this in 2019.

Safer by Competence

Tarmac is a leading advocate of the Mineral Products Association (MPA) Safer by Competence industry programme which places zero harm as the overarching health and safety priority for the mineral products industry. As part of this sector-leading drive, the MPA has devised an ambitious ‘Safer by Competence’ policy to deliver demonstrable personal competence across its members. ‘Safer by Competence’ sets out routes to meeting National Occupational Standards relevant to specific roles, with a range of targets applicable to all operational employees. Tarmac provides employees with the opportunity to gain National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) / Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) / Scottish Qualifications and Credit Framework (SQCF) vocational qualifications as the basis for demonstrating competence.

During 2018

  • 101 operational employees completed National Vocational Qualification (NVQ)
  • All mobile plant operators enrolled in a competency-based operator licence scheme and we launched the Tarmac Professional Operator Development Programme
  • A SHE qualification was launched for managers/supervisors in our building products business

Looking ahead

In 2019 we will complete our transition to the new ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety standard and identify opportunities to integrate our core management systems elements. Our health and safety strategy will continue to contribute delivery towards the 2021 roadmap and further opportunities will be taken to embed safety within our business strategy. We plan to place an even greater emphasis on delivery of a fair and just culture which will be built upon doing things the right way.