Electrical safety specialist, Bender UK, is celebrating achieving the industry’s flagship standard for occupational health and safety best practice at its headquarters in Ulverston, which houses product testing facilities, and delivers sales, service, project management, and technical support.
Bender UK has achieved OHSAS 18001 (an international occupational health and safety management system specification) after six months of intensive activity driven by a determination to have the new standard in place for the start of this year.
The company specialises in the development of innovative solutions for safe handling of electrical power specifically tailored to meet the needs of its customers across a wide range of sectors – from healthcare, rail, and marine engineering, through to electric cars, data handling centres, and solar power generation.
Health and safety manager, Jon Lyons, who was tasked with achieving the standard by Bender UK MD, Steve Mason, explains that meeting the objective required the commitment and dedication of the entire company, one of the necessary measures being the establishment of a health and safety working group which enhanced the bid.
Jon Lyons says: “Bender UK has an excellent safety record – as you would expect from a company which is in the business of electrical safety across sectors where the power system availability is crucial, such as healthcare and operating theatres, data centres, power generation, and high-tech manufacturing.
“A large part of our service support and installation takes place on customer sites, so Bender wanted to be able to show the highest safety standard by gaining OHSAS 18001, and that meant examining, and if necessary upgrading, management procedures, quality systems, and safety protocols within the business.”
Accreditation to OHSAS 18001 will, Bender UK says, ensure that it has the relevant qualities to adhere to large contractor safety requirements, and complements ‘Zero Harm’ policies which many now adopt. The company believes it will also give it a competitive edge over other organisations not similarly accredited, and enhance its ability to win new contracts. In addition to winning this award, Bender UK has just been awarded ‘Safe Contractor’ accreditation – a leading third party accreditation scheme which ‘recognises very high standards in health and safety management’.
