Breckland Council
Overview
One of seven districts in Norfolk, Breckland Council has its base in East Dereham and employs around 300 people, some of whom spend time working away from the office, in the field, or during unsociable hours.
While no Council job description is currently considered ‘high risk’, Corporate Health and Safety Advisor, Nick Kendrick, is strongly encouraging managers to make Peoplesafe devices mandatory PPE for staff out in the field, where the risk assessment has identified a particular risk, that the device will help to provide an increase in safety.
Peoplesafe is part of the ‘kit bag’
“Thankfully, we’ve not had to deal with many employees in dangerous situations, but it would only take one accident or incident to change that, and we’re just not prepared to take the risk”, explains Nick Kendrick. “We consider a personal safety service a necessity, not a luxury.”
Health and Safety is a key aspect of the Breckland Council ethos and for the last six years, Nick Kendrick has worked with the Peoplesafe technology and support team to provide reassurance and peace of mind for its non-office-based employees.
With the benefit of knowing that someone can see exactly where they are, incidents can be recorded, and the Peoplesafe ARC (Alarm Receiving Centre) can listen in, and should a difficult situation escalate, summon assistance from the emergency services if needed.
Technology as PPE
Where appropriate, Breckland now plans to incorporate Peoplesafe devices as standard council PPE to ensure that employees are fully protected in their role. This step will ensure that they not only continue to meet HSE legislative needs, but also up the ante to safeguard their people in the most robust way possible.
Nick added:
“A pair of safety boots can only ever offer limited protection unless you always wear them. Personal safety technology is the same. You may have never had an incident before, but you could in the future and that’s the point.“
Personal safety technology has become an important component of Breckland Council’s personal safety ‘kit bag’ and not a tick-box requirement. Successful implementation within their safety culture is a priority, and the council conducts regular personal safety awareness training sessions with device-specific training and well-communicated processes.
