A million safe working hours is being celebrated by the Church Village Bypass workforce as the major construction scheme remains well on course for completion in Autumn 2010.
During the first one million working hours on the site, not a single reportable injury occurred despite the fact that such projects can be extremely hazardous without careful management.
Work on the £90million project began in September 2007 and over two years later the safety record of the workforce has been maintained. The workforce can be as large as 300 people at any one time, using their skills on different sections of the 7.5km road in any day.
Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s contractors Costain have safety issues at the foremost of their minds when undertaking such projects which has been acknowledged given the impressive safety record to date.
Every member of the workforce receives a 45 minute safety induction and must wear mandatory personal protection equipment that includes hard hat, high visibility jackets, protective footwear, safety glasses and gloves before being allowed on site.
The Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport and Customer Care Cllr Andrew Morgan said: “The outstanding safety record being maintained by the Costain workforce is exemplary, particularly as such projects can be extremely hazardous given the nature of work in hand.
“We are very pleased that the project remains well on course for completion in 2010 and look forward to seeing the many lasting benefits it will bring to residents and visitors alike.”
Stuart Curtis, Safety Advisor for Costain said, “This significant milestone supports our strong company position on site safety and our responsibility to ensure our staff who often work in difficult conditions go home safely to their families at the end of each working day.”
Barry Woodman Project Manager for Costain said, “Safety is the number one priority and whilst there is considerable satisfaction is seeing good progress being made and remaining on target to achieve the intended opening date, my primary objective is to keep the team motivated and safe.”
