Mentioning the phrase ‘health and safety’ often leads people to switch off and zone out immediately. But here at Leeds Federated, customers are at the heart of what we do and we’re committed to helping keep customers and their homes safe.
While some aspects of health and safety might be
very visible to customers, lot of activities we’re involved with to meet legislation and keep everyone safe, happen every single day without you realising. In this blog, Gav Prothero, our Health and Safety Manager, shares more about some of those everyday activities…
_______________________
“In the Tenant Satisfaction Measures for 2023-24, 89.1% of customers reported that they were satisfied their home was safe. That’s quite a high figure already, but by focusing on health and safety and having a positive culture around that, we can improve.
As Health and Safety Manager, my role is to develop the right culture around health and safety, so I work closely with colleagues across the organisation, as well as external contractors. I’m also responsible for making sure Leeds Federated meets health and safety legislation which essentially means keeping customers, colleagues and the wider community safe from hazards.
Every day holds something different. One day might start and end with the same audit or incident investigation. Another day may be filled with a combination of health and safety inspections with in-house teams and contractors, report writing, preparing various risk assessments, and providing technical advice to colleagues.
I also spend a chunk of time delivering health and safety training to colleagues to make sure they’re aware of hazards, are working in a safe way and can help keep customers safe. Some of the training topics I cover include: personal safety, risk assessments, asbestos awareness and contractor management.
In terms of monitoring compliance, I carry out inspections on contractors to make sure they’re keeping customers safe and that the homes and buildings we own are safe too. Some inspections visiting customer homes so I can see the impact of health and safety activities first hand. I also prepare, publish, review and update the corporate health and safety policies and procedures. I regularly report back to our Health and Safety Committee, Board and Leadership Team about health and safety performance and compliance across the organisation.”
_______________________
Gav’s role oversees the strategic aspect of health and safety at Leeds Federated; you might have come across other colleagues from different parts of the organisation who deal with the practical side of health and safety activities.
If you need to report something that’s unsafe in your home or one of our buildings, or you feel one of our colleagues or contractors is working in an unsafe way, you can call us on 0113 386 1000 or email us at hello@leedsfed.com.