National Timber Systems was formed from the engineered wood products divisions of National Timber Group brands NYTimber and Arnold Laver. Combining the two businesses has included creating a consistent health and safety culture in which everyone is involved.
Over the last two and a half years NTS has been on a journey to make occupational health and safety a fundamental part of its operations.
Led by Ian Halloway, NTG Health & Safety Business Partner, this has facilitated a shift to a people-centric safety culture using a risk-based approach, with improved documented safe systems of work and a more consultative way of doing safety.
“The forward-thinking strategy led by Ian has successfully transformed our culture, prioritising health and safety in every aspect,” said Richard Jarvis, NTS Commercial & Operations Director.
“It has become a symbol of engagement, fostering positivity and ensuring that every one of our colleagues returns home safely.”
Ian Halloway said: “We have developed a learning culture where we are prepared for investigating any accidents, near misses and minor issues, and proactively seek potential risks and vulnerabilities through observations.
“We shied away from taking the simple options and ensured we have a comprehensive set of risk assessments, safe operating procedures and the key elements of a documented safe system of work.
“We have upskilled managers, supervisors and team leaders in key safety topics such as risk assessing, investigating, and leading in safety. Our workforce own safety and we have invested time to make everyone more safety aware.”
- Daily safety observations are encouraged from everyone who visits any of the four sites, and NTS highlights both negative and positive behaviours.
- Daily ‘Power 5’ sessions take place when production stops for a short period and people can voice concerns or offer improvement suggestions.
- Leading and lagging indicators and KPIs are used to measure the effects of what is changed or introduced.
- Safety related training has been improved for everyone.
As part of National Timber Group, NTS also promotes the Golden Principles which are a group-wide initiative raising awareness of the different aspects that contribute to a healthy and safe workplace.
Richard Jarvis added: “Health and safety is our top priority and a journey that never ends.”
