The accreditation standard SAFEcontractor is awarded to UK contractors which meet the highest standards of health and safety. Based in Epsom, UK, EPP supplies, installs and maintains plant and equipment from leading European manufacturers to British and Irish bakers and food manufacturers.
“This safety accreditation proves to customers EPP’s commitment to the very highest of safety standards,” a company spokesperson told FoodProductionDaily.com.
The award, based on a six-month independent audit of health and safety procedures, is expected to help the company win new contracts and should be viewed positively by its insurers when the company’s liability policy is due for renewal, he added.
Health and safety standards
EPP managing director Keith Stalker said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the SAFEcontractor certificate because it demonstrates just how high our health and safety standards are.”
To win accreditation companies agree to an independent audit of their health and safety procedures and their safety record.
The SAFEcontractor scheme is operated by the National Britannia Group which specializes in international safety, health and environmental risk management.
More client companies are beginning to insist on an external audit of safety standards, said the spokesperson for EPP.
That view was supported by SAFEcontractor which said in a statement: “Organisations can no longer run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove they have sound health and safety policies.
"More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that EPP has done. The firms’ high standards set an example which hopefully will be followed by other companies within the sector.”
SAFEcontractor operates in a range of market sectors for more than 120 clients and has more than 12,000 contractor members.
Reliable system
According to SAFEcontractor: “With legislation placing an ever-increasing burden on organisations to ensure the health and safety competency of contractors providing services on their premises, it is vital to have a reliable system in place.
“More than ever, there is a need to determine how seriously your external contractors and service providers take health and safety and to professionally assess the suitability of their arrangements - increasingly this is being carried out through SAFEcontractor.”