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How drilling and geotechnical industry experts Equipe Group dig deep with SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor) for health and safety checks on a huge project: securing themselves an award and transforming best practices for the better.
Equipe Group is at the forefront of sustained development and growth of the geotechnical and drilling sectors. They offer an array of services spanning specialist health and safety training to geosolutions that make on-site operatives lives easier and safer.
The scope of their operations demands technology that’s up to the task — and that’s where SafetyCulture comes in. Equipe Group frequently uses the platform for data collection when undertaking assessments or conducting training. So when the UK’s most ambitious road scheme in 35 years landed in their lap, they were ready to hit the ground running.
Equipe was approached by the world’s premier infrastructure firm AECOM, who were contracted to undertake ground investigations for the Lower Thames Crossing project: part of the biggest investment in the country’s road network and the most ambitious road scheme in 35 years.
The proposed 14.3-mile project includes 2.6-miles of road under the River Thames, which will become the longest road tunnel in the UK. Before the project can commence, extensive ground investigations are crucial to understand the demands and challenges of this complex project.
Using SafetyCulture platform, they created an inspection and audit regime prior to investigations commencing, including assessment of all equipment and health and safety practices.
“The benefits that SafetyCulture platform and the safety checks have brought to the project have been significant and measurable.”
The Equipe team took almost 6 weeks to build and refine a comprehensive regime of inspections and audits. The process was organic: continually refining and adjusting templates to ensure they would meet the needs of the AECOM team and the project.
Audits created in SafetyCulture platform were designed to inspect all aspects of the site and equipment before commencing work, ranging from checks of ropes, rigs, and drilling equipment, through to health and safety signage and PPE.
Over 200 different checks were completed for complete visibility and transparency. Across the site, failure rates ranged from 4% – 40% in different areas, with all aspects highlighted and issues presented to contractors for resolution.
After presenting site findings to AECOM, the infrastructure firm had tremendously positive feedback on the depth and breadth of Equipe’s approach.
AECOM has now assembled a working group of industry experts to evaluate findings and use this to establish guidance for best practice, with the objective of rolling it out to the industry as a whole.
Equipe Group’s approach with the support of SafetyCulture also secured the organization recognition as winners in the Health and Safety category at the Ground Engineering Awards 2020.
“For me, it’s about what you get at the end – the data. SafetyCulture platform not only helps you capture but to also dig in, find trends, and identify problems. We use analytics a LOT – having all that data in one place is invaluable.”
Continually evolving with SafetyCulture platform
After originally rolling out SafetyCulture platform for conducting assessor observations and gathering evidence for National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs), Equipe has continued to evolve and grow its use of the platform.
By producing inspection templates that use assigned, standardized questions and multiple-choice options, alongside logic and rich data capture such as photos, Equipe ensures consistency and obtains valuable data to continually improve standards. The flexibility of the tool for multiple use cases is a big benefit for the organization.
Product and Innovation Director Keith Spires is working with the British Drilling Association to now roll out SafetyCulture platform for other members, opening up the opportunity for improving standards of quality and safety across the entire sector.
“It’s totally changed how we do things. We’ve moved from paper-based processes to a digital tool that gathers and backs up all our data, is easy and simple for staff to use, and enables us to pull out important data at the touch of a button,” says Keith.
“Support-wise, SafetyCulture has been absolutely brilliant. It’s a great tool to use and for someone like me, who lives for data – absolutely ideal.”
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