Safety seal of approval for warehouse design solution specialists

Acorn Warehouse Solutions Ltd is one of the latest companies to gain accreditation from a leading edge scheme, designed to help UK industry improve its safety record.

The Cambridgeshire-based firm recently received accreditation from SAFEcontractor, a programme which recognises very high standards of health and safety practise amongst UK contractors.

AWS is a specialist provider of warehouse racking, shelving and mezzanine floor solutions, and helps businesses to fit out and restructure their warehouse space so they get more out of their existing footprint.

With over 30 years of experience behind them, AWS’s most recent clients include major players such as Phoenix Foods, Autoglym, Active Air and Vauxhall Aftersales.

The company’s application for SAFEcontractor accreditation was driven by the need for a uniform standard across the business.

Kevin Fouhy, Acorn Warehouse Solutions Ltd’s Managing Director commented: “We have a huge amount of experience in managing complete, turnkey warehouse fit out projects, but felt that accreditation from SAFEcontractor would put a seal of approval on how we do things. We advise our clients all the time on best practice in their warehouse and logistics operations, so it’s fitting that we show our commitment via this accreditation.”

Commenting also on the value of the SAFEcontractor accreditation, Fouhy continued: “We expect the SAFEcontractor accreditation to be attractive to new prospective clients, and it will undoubtedly be viewed positively by our insurers when our company liability policy is up for renewal.”

John Kinge, Head of Risk at SAFEcontractor said, “Major organisations can no longer run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound health and safety policies”.

“More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that Acorn Warehouse Solutions has done. The firm’s high standard has set an example, which hopefully will be followed by other companies within the sector”.

About SAFEcontractor

SAFEcontractor is a third party accreditation scheme that assesses health and safety arrangements. Many major clients recognise the scheme and accept the SAFEcontractor certificate as confirmation of competency. You only need to be assessed once and not by every client and prospect.

Under the SAFEcontractor system, businesses undergo a vetting process, which examines health and safety procedures and their track record for safe practice. Those companies meeting the high standard are included on a database, which is accessible to registered users only via a website www.safecontractor.com

Employer-organisations who sign up to the scheme can access the database, enabling them to vet potential contractors before they even set foot on site. These employers agree that, as users of the scheme, they will engage only those who have received accreditation.

Over one hundred and fifty major nation-wide businesses, from several key sectors, have signed up to use the scheme when selecting contractors for services such as building, cleaning, maintenance, refurbishment or electrical and mechanical work.