Cleveland Bridge UK’s safety commitment rewarded with new standard

An historic bridge builder has seen its commitment to occupational health and safety best practice officially recognised.

Cleveland Bridge UK has achieved the international standard ISO45001.

Replacing OHSAS 18001, which will be withdrawn in 2021, ISO45001 has been designed to enhance businesses’ occupational health and safety culture with a greater focus on managing employee wellbeing.

The Darlington-based company has also used migrating to the new standard to further champion safety, health and environment (SHE) activities.

A key element of its work has seen the establishment of a team of SHE Champions who, with the support of the company’s training department, have become qualified internal auditors tasked with backing Cleveland Bridge’s drive for the continuous improvement of its processes and systems.

To achieve ISO45001, the firm undertook a comprehensive audit and upgrade programme, which was delivered internally by its experienced SHE department and verified by external auditor SCCS.

The external auditor also undertook successful visits to Cleveland Bridge’s 22-acre production facility, as well as to an external site where the company was part of a construction project.

Chris Droogan, managing director, said: “Achieving ISO45001 is testament to the health and wellbeing culture we have created and the commitment of our people to deliver safe operations across every area of our business.

“The collaboration between teams and departments throughout the company, and their continued focus on health and safety, has been instrumental is ensuring we maintain our commitment to delivering best practice and prioritising the wellbeing of our workforce.”

The company’s health and safety success follows completion of a record-breaking project.

The firm fabricated its largest pair of steel girders for an East Midlands transport scheme, with the 56-metre-long structures forming part of a new bridge spanning the A45 in Coventry.

The business’ previous record was 50 metres, which it set in 2017 for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project.

Since its inception, Cleveland Bridge has built some of the world’s most iconic structures.

The group was involved in erecting the Victoria Falls Bridge and in 1911 designed Middlesbrough’s Transporter Bridge.

It has also supplied bridges for the widening of the A1 in North Yorkshire, and jungle and rural crossings in Sri Lanka.