Our Policies
Solaridas works to the highest standards and has a number of policies in place to ensure the safe and efficient completion of projects.
Our Health & Safety Policy
Our main goal is to prevent all injuries or ill health amongst our employees, those who work with us, and members of the public. It is our intention that our operations are executed at all times in such a manner as to protect the health and safety of any person. Health and Safety excellence will be achieved when everyone in the company demonstrates a positive attitude, looks for the best practice, is intolerant of poor performance or failure to comply with company procedures and possesses readiness to take action to ensure consistently high standards.
Health and Safety is integral to success; It is a fundamental part of our business. We know that an organisation will never be able to achieve the highest standards of Health and Safety management without the active involvement of the directors. That’s why we want you to know that here at Solaridas we have the passion and the energy to ensure that health and safety stays at the core of our organisation.
The key to achieving healthy and safe working conditions is to ensure that Health and Safety issues are planned, organised, controlled, monitored and reviewed. We check that working conditions are healthy and safe before work begins and ensure that the proposed work is not going to put others at risk. We do this either if we run and manage a smaller job, or if we work as subcontractor at a large site controlled by someone else.
Whether we have more formal responsibilities for securing Health and Safety on site or when the legal requirements do not apply to some jobs, the principles of successful Health and Safety management that we use are still the same: When we plan our work, we gather as much health and safety information about the project and the proposed site as possible before work begins. Our sources of information include the client, the design team, contract documents, the main contractors on site, specialist contractors and consultants, trade and contractor organisations, equipment and material suppliers, HSE guidance and British or European Standards.
When we organise our work, we make sure that everyone understands how work is to be undertaken and is aware of relevant method statements before work starts. We make sure that people working for us get the information they require and provide them with training and supervision as needed. Our workers are always asked about the training they have received beforehand, and we ask to see certificates of training achievement. We then get them to demonstrate their knowledge or to show examples of safe working practice before setting them to work.
When setting up the site, we make sure that our workers have emergency procedures; the most obvious is fire but it’s not the only one – We also plan routes and exits, taking into consideration the type of work being done on site. We take precautions to ensure that the likelihood of emergencies is as low as possible.
Working at Height
Means work in any place, including a place at or below ground level, where if measures required by the Work at Height Regulations 2005 are not taken, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. Falls are the largest cause of accidental death in the construction industry. There is no distinction between low and high falls. This means that for any work at height, precautions are required to prevent or minimise the risk of injury from a fall. We follow a hierarchy of control measures for determining how to work at height safely. We avoid work at height where we can. We use work equipment to prevent falls where work at height cannot be avoided; where the risk of a fall cannot be eliminated, we use work equipment to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall should one occur. We always consider measures that protect all those at risk, like collective protection measures (scaffolds, nets, soft landing systems) before measures that only protect the individual, such as personal protection measures (a harness). We ensure work is carried out only when weather conditions do not jeopardise the health and safety of the workers.
Occupational Health Risks
The main health risks in construction are: musculoskeletal disorders, hand-arm vibration syndrome, dermatitis, noise-induced hearing loss and asbestos-related diseases. There are also hazardous substances and processes that we must identify and find less hazardous alternatives. We have a legal duty to assess the health risks involved and to prevent exposure or adequately control it, under the COSHH (the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002). There are separate regulations for asbestos and lead – the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 and the Control of Lead at Work Regulations.
Asbestos
All work with asbestos and the precautions needed are covered by the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 and the supporting Approved Code of Practice and guidance. The Regulations place a duty on an employer to prevent the exposure of employees to asbestos, or to reduce exposure to the lowest reasonably practicable level. If possible, a work method which avoids any disturbance of asbestos-containing materials should be chosen. If this is not possible, before carrying out any work that is liable to expose employees or others to asbestos, we make an assessment of the likely exposure.
It is important to make this assessment even when exposure to asbestos is infrequent and only happens by chance, e.g. during building refurbishment or repair work such as gas fitting, plumbing or electrical work. The assessment will help in deciding what precautions need to be taken to protect people who may be affected by the work. Apart from a few limited exemptions, the Asbestos Licensing Regulations 1983 prohibit contractors working on asbestos insulation, asbestos coating or asbestos insulating board unless they have a licence issued by the HSE. Before starting work, we check whether a licensed contractor should be doing it.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR) apply to everyone at work, regardless of what the work is.
Risk Assessment
We carry out risk assessment in five steps:
We look for the hazards. We consider the job, how it will be done, where it will be done and what equipment, materials and chemicals will be used. Some of the hazards that could cause serious and fatal accidents or ill health are: falling from an open edge or through a fragile surface; being struck by site vehicles; collapse of an excavation or part of a structure; use of a vibrating hand tool; work with materials (eg lead, asbestos or solvents) that could be a health problem; dust from cutting, grinding or drilling.
We decide who might be harmed and how. We think about employees, the self-employed, employees of other companies working on the job, site visitors and members of the public who may be in the area or outside the site. We discuss with the principal contractor or whoever is controlling the site.
We evaluate the risks and decide on action. Firstly, we ask ourselves whether the hazard can be removed completely, whether the job could be done in another way or by using a different, less hazardous material. If it can, then we change the job or process to eliminate the risk. Secondly, if the risk cannot be eliminated, we check whether it can be controlled. Thirdly, we ask ourselves whether measures can be taken to protect the whole workforce. For example, to prevent falls, guard rails at edges provide safety for everyone in the area. And then, we ask ourselves whether the number of people at risk can be reduced. For example, by reducing the size of the site workforce while cranes are in use for erecting structural frames etc, or by undertaking higher-risk tasks outside normal site working hours when only essential personnel will be present.
We record the findings of the assessment as an aid to controlling hazards and risks.
We review the findings. Reviews allow lessons learned from experience to be taken into account, even if there are cases when the principal contractor will be in the position to do a full assessment.
Sustainability
We want to “build with integrity”, so that we can leave behind a legacy. We think we can be a bit of the “change we wish to see in the world”. We think businesses are or should be for people more than for money. If your money doesn’t bring good or better for somebody else, then it is either useless or maybe destroying. We think business is crucial today for tomorrow’s world – transformational business. We have the vision of building a world with integrity.
Sustainability with eco-efficiency, and eco-effectiveness, with “greening” because we and our communities still depend on the earth’s resources. Sustainability with saving energy and taking care of environment. We are too small at the moment for big actions but we still do some small actions that matter. Some of our printed marketing materials are made from recyclable cotton T-shirts. Sustainability with delivering goods and services on an ethical basis, satisfying societal and individual needs at the same time. Some of our valued business partners plant trees in order to change the impact their business make and this was one of the reasons we chose these cooperations at the beginning. Our way of seeing things paid off, because people’s attitudes and businesses’ attitude go beyond and leave a print on the outcomes of work, our choices proved to be the best in many aspects. Sustainability with participating in communities’ lives and making the communities thrive. Encompassing philanthropy. This journey starts with people at the heart of business, with cooperation and with sharing step-by-step the same vision, “building the vision” itself with integrity.
And all of the above, while being a healthy source of competitive advantages, represent in fact the new way of doing business, our business model.
Thank you for your kind attention and we are looking forward with great interest to doing great business with integrity together!
Feedback and Testimonials
“The cladding removal and reinstatement works were carried out to a very high standard.”
“There was not a single accident during the entire programme of works.”
“Visits carried out by the HSE, Fire and Rescue services and Building control could find “NO” issues on site during a number of unplanned site visits.”