Decorator becomes 1000th Willmott Dixon trained Site Safety Supervisor
A decorator from a Reading company has become the 1000th person that Willmott Dixon has trained as a Site Safety Supervisor (SSS) over the past two years.
Jonathan Allen from SG Hill Decorators in Bradfield Southend, Reading, achieved the milestone after Willmott Dixon introduced the SSS course for its supply chain across the UK after the amended CDM Regulations required subcontractors to have trained people to monitor their own workforce on site.
Jonathan is currently working on Willmott Dixon’s Holyport Manor Special Needs School project in Maidenhead. He said “It was a pleasant surprise when they told me I was the 1000th person, a historic milestone. It was also great for a company like SG Hill Decorators to achieve such an accolade.”
The SSS course is based on Construction Skills Site Safety Plus courses. Candidates are trained in making risk assessments and understanding method statements and safe systems of work. They also learn to deliver safety toolbox talks on site effectively.
From 1st January 2010, all sites by companies in the UK Contractor Group will require subcontractors to supply safety supervisors. By then, Willmott Dixon forecasts it will have trained 1,200 people to SSS standard.
Group head of health and safety Jim Higham said, “We have been delighted how all our subcontractors have bought into site safety supervisor training. During training we emphasize that site supervisors must be prepared to intervene, communicate and discuss safety at all times.
“Supervisors have their own detailed induction courses when they join a site and are made to feel part of the management team. The courses have already had a tremendous impact on our projects and the safety figures speak for themselves. Last year our accident frequency rate was down by 18 per cent. We believe that the SSS courses have played a big part in this reduction.”