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CONTRACTING » Barrs Limited
Business South / July 2013
Safety first policy reaps dividends Kelly Deeks Having seen first hand the injuries and devastation caused by the February 2011 earthquake, Paul Harding of Christchurch drainage company Barrs Limited decided there and then he was going to make his company’s work and work sites as safe as possible. Barrs has since been the worthy recipient of the SCIRT Bill Perry Safety Award on two occasions, the only company in the rebuild to have won it twice so far. Barrs took out a highly commended award in December 2011, and won the trophy for the second quarter of 2012. As a contractor with earthmoving equipment, Harding worked in the red zone immediately following the earthquake assisting with the rescue and recovery effort. “What I saw in the city was terrible,” he says. “I never want that - I want all my guys to get home safely at night. That’s my main driver.” Not only has Barrs developed new systems to improve health and safety on work sites, Harding has also changed the way he runs his business on a day-to-day level. “I used to talk about the job we had to do first, then say ‘off you go, be safe’,” he says. “Now we talk about how we’re going to be safe first, then we go and do the job. We talk about what the hazards are and what the controls are, and everyone signs to show they are aware. “At the end of each month, if our health and safety results are good, we have a barbecue, and two beers each as I don’t encourage drunk driving. If not, the team gets a coffee and a health and safety meeting.” The centrepiece of Barrs’ safety innovation package is a method of pressure-testing sewer main renewals from ground level. Speciallydesigned pneumatic plugs are lowered into manholes and inserted with a custom-made tool. The pressure test is controlled from ground level and the plug removed. Plugs are available to cover pipes from 100mm to 600mm diameter.
Barrs Limited 0274 965 666 srbs@xtra.co.nz
Some of the Barrs’ crew on site - with their well earned Bill Perry Safety Awards. Harding says the new system developed by Barrs means there’s no need for workers to have to go into confined spaces and sewers. “This avoids the hazard, improves safety, saves time and eliminates any temptation for crews to short-cut tedious processes. Productivity is also improved by cutting out lengthy preparation for confined space work.” A second initiative Barrs has put into practice is using a safety railing for their trench shields. This robust clip-on device protects workers from falling into a trench, as well as having an extension to the internal ladder to make it easier to get in and out. A hinged gate can be closed during work breaks to secure the trench completely. Thirdly, with regard to the high electrical hazard posed by overhead lines, Barrs has sourced a fibreglass automatic measuring pole to measure
clearance spaces for trucks and other big machinery on work sites. Barrs is currently sitting at two and a half years with no service strikes, an achievement that can be attributed to careful planning, good systems, and attention to detail.
When people ask Harding how he can afford to employ such intensive health and safety systems, he replies ‘how can you afford not to?’ “The cost of an incident is so much more,” he says. “You can’t buy a good reputation, and you can’t buy this award.”
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