July Newsletter
Welcome to the July 2009 issue of Xmo Strata's online newsletter.
To view a story, please click on the relevant headline below.
For further information please contact us or visit www.xmostrata.com
Content
- Report on retail: signs neglected despite recession
- Multi-hit sites get structural deterrents
- Behavioural change workshops
- New York, New York - leader board update
- Checklists introduced to enhance site safety
- Refresher course reminds employees of IIF messages
- DNV consultant takes safety to new heights
- BP awards Xmo Strata for safety performance
- Workstation safety for office-based staff
- Introducing XmoMan: A unique data management information system
- Kevin Cully passes IOSH Managing Safely
Report on retail: signs neglected despite recession
British retail managers say that the effect of poor signage is commercially damaging - yet only a quarter believe their companies have a sign maintenance programme in place.
In a recent survey, commissioned by Xmo Strata we found that 100% of retail managers questioned felt that poor signage was “damaging” or “very damaging” in terms of revenue and footfall. “Poor signage” included dirty signs, fluorescent tube failure, damage to the sign etc.
The same survey group thought that signage was as important as special offers and promotions, the web, PoS and advertising in helping them to survive a recession.
Yet only 28% of the survey group said their company had a sign maintenance programme.
Managing Director Steve Martin said: “Any retail manager will tell you that poor signage will hit footfall fairly quickly and the ideal is not to have any damaged signage at all.
If proactive maintenance contracts are put in place, problems will be dealt with cost-effectively at an early stage, when they are barely discernible to the public.”
Steve also expects that few retailers will plan major signage rollouts during the recession (except those involved in mergers and acquisitions) and the priority is to leverage maximum value from the existing assets by using maintenance programmes to prolong the life of the sign and keep elderly signs looking bright, clean and fresh.
Why did we do the survey?
This kind of research allows us to get coverage in the media which in turns makes people aware of the variety of services we offer; in this instance sign maintenance.
For further information on the research results, please contact us or visit http://www.xmostrata.com/sign-maintenance/survey.php
Multi-hit sites get structural deterrents
Large warning signs have been installed on two Esso forecourts which suffered canopy damage by oversized vehicles.
We had the job of preventing the vehicles making it as far as the canopy, reducing the risk of damage.
Operations Manager, Kate Parmentier said: “The ‘goal-post’ style structures serve as a visual warning and a physical barrier for drivers with vehicles over 3.5 metres. The structures offer cost savings to the customer in the event of a collision - they're cheaper to repair or replace.”
Hearts and Minds
Behavioural change workshops
Our commitment to the Hearts and Minds programme is gathering pace as 52 employees, subcontractors and customers have now attended the first behavioural change workshops.
The in-house workshops enhance the awareness of health and safety practices and encourage even safer working.
Managers developed the courses with the specific trades of Xmo Strata and Xmo Veritas in mind. The courses study real life examples of accidents, showing attendees the implications of poor workplace safety.
The first courses were held on 20 March at the Esso Retail Training Centre in Ewell, and 17 April at the Retail Head Office of BP in Milton Keynes.
Thanks to Ian Kidger (Esso), Dan Pass (ABB), Dave Newton (BP), Jason McMenamin (BP), Gary Worrow (BP), Andy Kennedy (Global Alliance), Lee Lawrence (Global Alliance), Martin Rackley (Global Alliance), Kevin Sparrow-Saunt (ABB), Dave Walker (ABB) and Tony Durrant (Global Alliance) for making us welcome at their facilities and showing their support and commitment.
To see further images of the events, please visit http://www.xmostrata.com/health/heartsminds.php
New York, New York - leader board update
The all expenses paid trip to New York is only six months away and the scores continue to rise amongst our engineers.
Statistics show that more near misses have been reported between January and June 2009 than were reported throughout the whole of 2008.
“This is a fantastic achievement and shows that teams are adopting a more proactive approach to safety and factoring it into every part of their work," said Managing Director Steve Martin. "Safety initiatives do work and this goes to show that when the right messages are delivered - and delivered effectively - they can deliver tangible benefits.”
League table (top 10 teams) as of 31st May 2009
- Steve Knights and Simon Barrow
- Andy and Todd Wyer
- Antony and Jamie Woods
- Mick Dennis and Neil Davies
- Paul and Tom Slater
- * Lea Handley and Phil Morris
- * Danny O'Leary and Andy Clark
- Dan Aberdeen and Karl Vaughan
- John and Steve Mitchell
- Lee Wilbor
* Lea Handley/Phil Morris and Danny O'Leary/Andy Clark are in joint 6th place.
Checklists introduced to enhance site safety
We have distributed specially designed checklists to engineers to highlight potential workplace hazards remind them to carry out last minute safety checks.
Hazard identification, last minute risk assessments, risk control measures and the isolation of energy sources are all detailed.
Quality and Systems Manager, Michael Mott said: “The checklists are to be used between carbon-copy pages of site paperwork, reminding crews to assess their work area and report anything deemed unsafe.
“Complacency has no place on Xmo sites; whether our teams have been in the industry for two years or 20, they have a responsibility to keep themselves and their colleagues safe.”
If you would like a copy of the checklist or would like any further information, please contact us.
Refresher course reminds employees of IIF messages
Our head office, Branden Oast recently played host to an Incident and Injury free (IIF) workshop run by Martin Rackley, HSSE Manager of the Global Alliance.
The course, developed by Bovis Lend Lease and presented to contractors of the Global Alliance, empowers attendees to challenge unsafe working practices and eliminate dangers at source.
Martin Rackley said: “IIF influences attitudes to safety and to helps people to understand the consequences of accidents.
“Policies and procedures aren't enough to prevent accidents; we also have to be proactive in our approach in identifying and eliminating potential risks.”
Martin has been delivering the IIF message for over seven years and reports a decline in serious incidents due to contractors reporting near misses, dealing with problems at source, and better relationships between bp staff and contractors.
“The most important elements in creating a safe workplace are policies, procedures and behaviours. Combined effectively, risks can be reduced,” added Martin.
DNV consultant takes safety to new heights
For anyone with a fear of heights, taking part in an abseil down the Avon Gorge may well make you feel rather queasy. But for Colin Bennett, Principal Consultant of Det Norske Veritas, his love of singing (and faith in safety inspections) helped him to make it over the edge and raise money to perform on the international stage.
Colin, you have confessed to having a fear of heights; what on earth made you climb down a cliff-face?
You can't go through your life living in fear; sometimes you just have to face the beast and move on - so that's what I did.
What was the fundraiser in aid of?
Since 1993 I have been singing with the Bristol Great Western Chorus and we recently won the 2008 National championships. To compete in the International stage of the championships, we need to raise the money to take all 58 of us to Anaheim, California in July.
Some members of the chorus are retired or at university and have a limited income. We believe this shouldn't deny them the opportunity to compete internationally.
So how did you end up getting involved in the abseil?
We have been fundraising since we won the Nationals and have been involved in various activities to raise money including concerts and boot fairs.
One of the other chorus members is a steeplejack and rounded-up a few people to take part in the abseil. I do have a fear of heights but I was determined to rise to the challenge.
Your job is to ensure that people are working safely; did you put your skills to good use?
Absolutely, abseiling requires many of the same safety principles and procedures as working at height; the same safety checks also need to be completed. After all, both my life and my friend's lives were on the line, I had to put my trust in the steeplejack and the equipment supplied (once I'd checked it of course!).
Before doing the abseil I was taken through training on the use of the equipment and I also did a safety audit. An ISO (International Standards Organisation) inspection had been carried-out recently on all of the equipment so I was confident that it was safe.
Working at height does have the potential to be dangerous; however, if the correct procedures are followed, the correct training is given and thorough safety checks are completed, it can be done safely.
For further information on the Great Western Chorus please visit www.singbristol.com
Footage of the abseil can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4ddDsqKJC8
Awards
BP awards Xmo Strata for safety performance
On 13 May 2009 we were recognised as ‘Best Maintenance Contractor‘ by the BP/Bovis Global Alliance and our Managing Director Steve Martin was runner-up in ‘Personal Leadership‘.
“The BP/Bovis Global Alliance has given us extensive recognition over the years which has never been taken for granted,” said Managing Director Steve Martin. "It must have been quite awkward to award us yet again and I'm sure that the panel were eager to award it elsewhere.
“These awards are a result of the high standards of health and safety practiced by the company; the credit should be shared by everyone, from office based staff and supervisors to managers and crews,“ he added.
Workstation safety for office-based staff
Our health and safety agenda doesn't begin and end with crews. All office-based staff have recently completed a DSE (Display Screen Equipment) workstation assessment to ensure that they are working safely with computer equipment.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), surveys have found that a high proportion of DSE workers report aches and pains; sometimes called RSI (repetitive strain injuries) or ULDs (upper limb disorders).
“Just because office staff don't face the risks of working at height or hazchem environments, it doesn't mean that their safety is any less important,” said Managing Director, Steve Martin.
Further information on DSE can be found by visiting the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/dse/
An online leaflet entitled ‘Working with VDUs‘ can also be viewed at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg36.pdf
Introducing XmoMan: A unique data management information system
XmoMan has been in use for the last four years and is pivotal in the efficient running of the company. It is a comprehensive database of all Xmo Strata jobs, locations and stock, as well as including detailed information on health and safety, quality analysis, value creation, estimating, purchasing, training, vehicle maintenance and job planning.
The system was developed entirely in-house and is exclusive to the company.
We want to give you a basic overview in this issue; you can also find a demonstration of the system on the website by visiting http://www.xmostrata.com/offer/index.php
Job / project information:
This includes details of current projects and gives a breakdown of all individual jobs/sites within them. Activities can be filtered by job number, client number, site and reference number.
Site photography / site information:
All crews carry digital cameras on-site and images are uploaded to XmoMan daily for customers to view the progress of their project. If any faults/problems are identified, crews will obtain photographic evidence which will be shared with the client via their secure log-in on the Xmo Strata homepage.
Employee / subcontractor training records:
XmoMan holds details of all employee's and subcontractor's qualifications. The system ‘flags-up’ any individual employees who have qualifications due for renewal.
Trend analysis:
By keeping detailed records of individual sites, XmoMan can identify trends including any commonalities between faults and the type of damage or cause, and the causes of the most expensive job types.
Value creation:
Information on cost-savings made on projects are entered into the XmoMan system. These savings may include combining deliveries or re-designing components.
This shows our customers that we can add value that is not identifiable in tender submissions.
Carbon footprint:
All crews and approved subcontractors keep detailed records of vehicle mileages, enabling us to monitor our carbon footprint and identify geographically where to recruit new teams to reduce travel and carbon output.
Instant report generation:
Reports can be generated at the touch of a button and can be shared with clients upon request.
These detailed reports can be used to:
- Analyse projects, including SLA compliance (average time to attend site)
- Provide financial reports, including WIP, overall job costs, overhead costs
- Comparisons of actual costs to estimate and planned costs
- Identify excessive visits to site, or excessive hours on jobs
- Programme crews holidays, sickness, training
- Plan site visits, crew to attend / date / expected duration on site, distance needed to travel from previous location
- Calculate crews payable hours, taking into account overtime & guaranteed hours etc
- Identify paperwork received from crews, and jobs crew attended where paperwork has not been received
- Identify TBT's / Training given to crews
- Identify PAT testing of crews tools
- Comprehensive H&S report on each person
Stock control:
Sometimes there are potential savings to be made by re-using redundant signage. By keeping records of stock levels, we are able to pass cost-savings onto our customers and improve job completion times. Our in house painters, sprayers and our partnership with Vicom International (restorative coatings) has led to strong value creation performance with some of our leading customers.
Health and safety:
XmoMan's sophisticated technology is able to generate comprehensive reports of all data relating to Health and Safety.
Xmo Strata has an open policy regarding Health and Safety and the graphical data generated contains information on audits, near misses, toolbox talks and accidents/incidents throughout the company.
Monthly reports can be distributed to customers upon request and Xmo Strata can tailor reports specifically to inform clients of data specific to their projects if required.
Incident investigation reports:
Records of all incidents and near misses are recorded on XmoMan and categorised according to their cause(s) and type. This enables trends to be analysed so that potential dangers can be identified, and resources allocated to address them.
Estimating:
All customer rates are stored in XmoMan and schedules can be generated automatically for each project. Once the quantities have been entered, this schedule of rates can be sent to the customer.
The schedule of rates also includes material costs and expected man-hours for the job (used by the job scheduling department when planning the works), and can be used for final project comparisons of actual hours Vs estimated hours.
Job planning:
The job planning capabilities of XmoMan assist the project administrators and planning department to schedule visits based on location, date, anticipated duration, skill level of crew required (i.e. electrician, sign fitter etc). One of our latest updates enables us to plan mileage based on GPS locations in advance of travelling and therefore contributes to our Carbon Emission performance. If the work changes and sites are re-scheduled, it is immediately visible to the job planner as to the effect on mileage and subsequent travel time that the changes have made.
Vehicle maintenance:
All Xmo Strata vehicles are logged in XmoMan. This part of the system contains details of MOTs, services, tax, audits, safety checks etc and is able to notify the fleet maintenance department when any of these are due for renewal.
Customer log-in:
XmoMan has a secure log-in which is accessed from the home page of the Xmo Strata website. Clients are provided with a unique username and password, allowing access to all projects relevant only to them.
Kevin Cully passes IOSH Managing Safely
We would like to congratulate Kevin Cully (Xmo Strata Area Supervisor) on passing the IOSH Managing Safely course.
The course was delivered over four-days and culminated in a written exam. This aims to help managers and supervisors handle health and safety effectively in their roles and make informed decisions to support our site teams and approved contractors.
Areas covered during the course included assessing and controlling risks, identifying hazards, investigating incidents and accidents, measuring performance and protecting the environment.
The course was undertaken during working hours and entirely at the company's expense.
Well done Kevin!