www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | MARCH 2016 | 33
"Zero incidents; zero harm; zero
compromise."
A
s company mantras go, there
are probably cheerier ones, but
Thames Water's 'triple zero'
tagline to its radical health and safety
Karl SimonS
HeAd of HeAlTH, SAfeTy And Wellbeing
THAMeS WATeR
Hi-tech approach to H&S
at Thames Water
A radical transformation of
health and safety culture
at Thames Water is seeing
new technology playing
its part in improving
conditions for workers
In the know
Skilling Up: health and safety
Thames Water workers atop the digesters at Reading Sewage Treatment Works
programme has certainly struck a
chord.
Few in the company are unaware
of it, such is its ubiquity. At induction
days for new starters, on posters in
reception halls, offices, work stations
and laboratories and on the back of
everyone's ID cards, the message is
the same.
And it's getting through.
In the last three years, the number
of employees taking time off work
through both injury or illness has
halved; in our most recent staff
survey the question 'does Thames
Water take health and safety
seriously?' saw 90% of the 4,000
employees who took part strongly
agreeing.
In part, this is down to a belief
in the power of education. In the
last three years, the company
has increased investment in H&S
training by 50%, including a focus on
confined spaces, manual handling,
power tools and scaffold safety. In
addition, more than 400 frontline
operational managers have now
successfully completed the highly-
respected National Examination
Board in Occupational Safety and
Health (NEBOSH) training that was
once the sole preserve of H&S teams.
And in 2015, Thames Water
delivered 12,000 man hours of H&S
training, compared to just 4,500
hours three years ago.
As a result, the whole culture is
changing; the health and wellbeing
strategy saw every employee offered
an annual personal confidential
medical assessment. When these
revealed 20 % of those attending
were referred to their own GP and
43% of the workforce assessed was
