Countrystyle continues to invest and heavily improve health and safety in the workplace following an incident in 2015. As a result, new safeguarding procedures were implemented, more PPE and safety signage was produced and staff underwent extensive training to significantly increase personal awareness and safety for every site.
At the end of February 2018, Countrystyle furthered its dedication to health and safety by enrolling a group of staff from different areas of the business in an intensive first aid course run by the dedicated team at the British Red Cross. Upon successful completion of the course, Countrystyle welcomes 13 new first aiders who work at a variety of different sites including (but not limited to), Lenham, Ridham, British Gypsum and New Spitalfields Market.
With the new MRF expansion due to be complete late 2018, the newly qualified staff will be the first port of call for any incident equipped with the skills and knowledge to respond emergency situation in the unlikely event it would be required.
Head of Health and Safety Earl Chapman commented: “the first aid course is a small but significant step into improving health and safety at all of our sites. It is critical to the company to ensure we provide a safe working environment, and with the nature of the business, there are always risks involved. The training is part of a wider plan for us to keep improving our sites, especially as we continue to grow and expand into new waste streams.”
One attendee of the course was Assistant Fleet Manager (RoRo), Antony Benn who said: “the course was really interesting and engaging for everyone that took part. We learnt a variety of skills and practised them in situations that we could experience in the workplace – hopefully not but if so, we are prepared! It followed a continuous assessment throughout and we learnt some great techniques to help in almost all situations”.
Another attendee, Marketing Executive Emily Geeson followed: “we cannot thank Countrystyle and of course, our trainers at the British Red Cross who did a fantastic job teaching us everything we need to know to handle an emergency situation. Countrystyle has come leaps and bounds since 2015 and continues to implement new safety measures through interactions with staff to make it a safer place to work”.
The benefit of training staff means that their newfound skills can also be used outside the workplace for the general public and their families. Congratulations to all the new first aiders at Countrystyle!