VGC Be Safe brief January 2021
This is your January 2021 Be Safe brief
There are two versions of the safety brief – a video version and a text version.
Please watch or read the version that you prefer.
Page contents
Video
Text version
This month's brief includes
- See it, share it
- Healthy lifestyle
- Worksafe process
- Changes to work environment
See it, share it
Please remember, if you’re involved in an incident or accident, no matter how minor, you must report it to your VGC line manager as soon as possible. Don’t assume that’s it’s enough to report it to your supervisor; take the extra step.
Congratulations to this month’s See it, share it winner. The award goes to Clive Webster at our G.Network project. Clive stepped in when a client engineer collapsed at work to provide first aid until the paramedics arrived. Fortunately, the engineer made a full recovery.
Thank you Clive. Your actions show that we look after each other.
Please remember to share observations and good practice. Email besafe@vgcgroup.co.uk.
Healthy lifestyle
Returning to work after the Christmas holidays, you might want to get back to a healthy lifestyle and eating plan. Balancing the number of calories you get from your food and drink with the number you burn off every day is a great start.
We should all try to exercise regularly. Any type of activity is good but the more often you can exercise, the better.
Give your body everything it needs to stay healthy by eating a balanced diet. Think about how much you need to eat and, whenever possible, eat regular meals instead of snacking on the go.
Worksafe process
We will back any VGC worker or contractor who refuses to work for health and safety reasons. If you believe it is unsafe to carry on working, stop and raise the issue with your line manager.
If you’re employed on a Network Rail project, and believe that you cannot work safely, you must stop work immediately, move to a position of safety and contact your controller of site safety or safe work leader. Tell them you have applied the worksafe procedure and explain why.
Changes to site environment
Recently, we had an incident where some VGC workers could see something on site that did not match the information on their permit. They thought that it was a minor issue and that they could deal with it themselves, without talking to our site supervisor. Unfortunately, their actions led to some asset damage.
Please remember our four Be Safe rules, especially “Stop work if anything changes”.
Work brief
Another of our Be Safe rules is “Get a brief before you start work”.
Most projects will re-brief or re-induct all site staff when they return to work after the Christmas and New Year break. Make sure you receive a briefing on your works before going on site. You may think the activity has not changed but please do not take that risk.
And finally
We look forward to a safe and healthy 2021. If you have questions about any part of this brief, or want to raise any observations of good practice or things that could be improved, please email besafe@vgcgroup.co.uk or fill in the online form at vgcgroup.co.uk/whistle.