As one of the UK’s largest contractors, Willmott Dixon says it takes serious responsibility for the safety of its operatives, continually encouraging a culture of zero tolerance towards all unsafe behaviour. The company says its ‘All Safe’ Health and Safety culture-change initiative is not only standard practice across all Willmott Dixon sites, but the recent introduction of its new All Safe Ambassador, Dylan Skelhorn, is having a measureable impact on industry colleagues.
In 2011 a chimney Dylan was working on collapsed and he was sent crashing onto a garden wall more than 10m below. He suffered two broken ribs, a punctured lung and he snapped his pelvis on both sides. Now at age 37, Dylan is 40% disabled, cannot walk without the aide of crutches and relies on a cocktail of 744 pills every month to manage his pain.
Dylan was unhappy with the safety conditions he was told to work in when the accident happened and in hindsight wishes he’d trusted his instincts to air his concerns.
In January 2017, Dylan Joined Willmott Dixon as its Ambassador for the All Safe initiative, an industry first which aims to encourage a zero-tolerance approach to all unsafe behaviour at every one of its project sites across the UK.
Dylan visits the sites, talking openly about his own experience and the effect it’s had on his own life and the lives of those he cares about.
In the 7 years since the All Safe initiative was introduced, Willmott Dixon says it has seen a 200% increase in safety observations on site, with noticeable peaks in observations every time Dylan delivers a presentation.
Mark French, head of health, safety and environment for Willmott Dixon Group, commented: “The atmosphere at Dylan’s presentations is palpable – his presence clearly hits home and makes people think twice about everything they do on site that could have a safety consequence. As soon as I met Dylan I knew he was the right champion for the All Safe programme, and we are proud to have him on board in what is a unique position within our industry.”
For more info: www.willmottdixon.co.uk/allsafe
