Bracknell Roofing’s goal of having one National Examination Board for Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH) trained person in each of its seven branches is a lot closer after two members of staff successfully completed the accreditation – with another three in the pipeline.
Regional contracts director Chris Beech, who is based at the South East branch in East Sussex, and branch sales manager James Sibson, who is based at the Midlands branch in Burton, have both achieved their NEBOSH health, safety and environmental practice and management accreditation.
Chris and James undertook the two-week NEBOSH training, which is a classroom course that has two very stringent exams at the end.
James said that the course was a fascinating insight into the construction industry as a whole because NEBOSH covers everything from below ground to up in the air and everything between.
“It’s not just aimed at contractors like Bracknell Roofing who work on pitched roofing – it’s designed for everyone, from main contractors to clients and even event organisers,” said James.
“It’s a very demanding and intense couple of weeks because you have so much information to digest across the whole spectrum of the construction industry – not just your particular sector.
“It’s this big picture thinking that is the key to NEBOSH, and the ability to be able to critically analyse a site is invaluable in ensuring everyone’s safety and well-being.”
Chris agrees with James on the fresh perspective that NEBOSH brings to Bracknell Roofing.He said: “NEBOSH makes you become hyper-vigilant on-site, and not just towards your own trade, but the site as a whole. This can only be of benefit to everyone because you see things that even the main contractor or the people running the site might not have considered.
“NEBOSH has certainly made me more aware of our legal duties and responsibilities. Like James, this has enabled me to be much more critically analytical about a site.”
The company’s divisional director, Simon Smith, said that a centralised SHEQ department with NEBOSH accreditation may be good enough for most companies, but Bracknell Roofing sees the value in going above and beyond what is required.
“Having this extra tier of NEBOSH knowledge and experience within our business can only benefit us moving forward. Bracknell Roofing has grown to become one of the UK’s largest roof, slate and tiling contractors, and we continue to push back the boundaries and set even higher standards of excellence in every part of our business.”
