Reaching 13 million safe manhours in August 2020, this achievement marks 243 days without an LTI across all of Emrill’s sites, including Dubai Marina and Downtown Dubai master communities, Dubai Airport and residential towers on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah
Leading UAE-based facilities management services provider, Emrill, has reached a major milestone in its ongoing efforts to ensure the health and safety of all employees, achieving 13 million safe manhours without lost-time injury (LTI) in 2020.
Reaching 13 million safe manhours in August 2020, this achievement marks 243 days without an LTI across all of Emrill’s sites, including Dubai Marina and Downtown Dubai master communities, Dubai Airport and residential towers on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah.
Emrill’s CEO, Stuart Harrison, said: “The health, safety and wellbeing of Emrill’s employees are at the forefront of everything we do. We have created a safety-first culture, in which every employee is accountable not only for personal safety but also for the wellbeing of colleagues and the residents of the communities and sites we serve. Achieving this milestone demonstrates the ongoing commitment of every Emrill employee to ensure our sites and facilities’ safety is second to none.”
Over the years, Emrill has launched several safety initiatives to create an environment of openness and awareness in which all Emrill employees are actively engaged in meeting safety targets. The company’s Target Zero initiative’s message was simple: If it is not safe, don’t do it. In another highly successful campaign, titled Don’t Walk By, Emrill employees were empowered to identify and raise concerns about any unsafe working practices and conditions to any other team member with confidence. All employees have been issued with a ‘Stop Work Card’, giving them the authority to stop any unsafe activity. Other ongoing safety programmes include Emrill’s Behavioural Based Safety and Working at Height initiatives, as well as monthly roleplay activities and Toolbox Talks, which focus on safe working practices.
In 2020, Emrill expanded its already extensive suite of health and safety training courses, adding its Frontline Supervisor (FLS) Health, Safety and Environment Training module. The learning outcomes of the module include understanding responsibilities, recognising common workplace hazards, implementing appropriate control measures, evaluating and mitigating risks and recognising the different ways in which health and safety performance can be measured and improved.
Since the launch of the module, 92 per cent of the 443 eligible employees have completed the course, with 93 per cent of participants achieving a pass rate of over 70 per cent on the final assessment.
Faisulla Shariff, Emrill’s integrated management system (IMS) manager, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it many challenges, including how to continue delivering world-class training and maintaining best practice standards while adhering to physical distancing guidelines. To ensure Emrill employees could complete the module, which is so critical for the safety of our frontline supervisors and the teams they manage, we adapted the course and training methodologies to enable us to deliver the lessons virtually. To date, 15 per cent of participants have completed the module via virtual learning, achieving comparable results to face-to-face learners at the end of the course.”
Upon completing the course, whether via classroom-based or virtual learning, all participants were required to complete a multiple-choice assessment. Those participants achieving more than 70 per cent were awarded a certificate. Any participants not achieving the minimum score was given further instruction, with additional support if required, to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the course material and its practical application before retaking the assessment.
Harrison said: “Learning doesn’t stop at the end of the course and we require the lessons from the classroom are carried through to employees’ daily roles onsite. The FLS module was designed to be highly practical, featuring information that could be taken straight from the course and applied. The principles are revisited frequently in the form of onsite meetings, the setting of KPIs and ongoing performance management and employee appraisals. We are serious about ensuring everything our employees have learned is implemented across every level of the business because safety is not just a box to be ticked off for us; it’s a fundamental part of our business.”
In addition to formal training modules, Emrill also runs a series of awareness campaigns throughout the year, including Halt for Health week and World Safety Day, which focus on employees’ personal health and wellbeing. Harrison concluded: “It is our ongoing and transparent commitment to health and safety that has enabled us to reach such an incredible health and safety milestone. This achievement goes to prove that when safety is a priority for everyone, we can work in a safe and accident-free environment.”
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