Winder Power, a leading UK manufacturer of power and distribution transformers and generator equipment, is celebrating 800 days without a reportable incident -- a record that extends across the company’s projects in the UK and worldwide, as well as within its own state-of-the-art factory in Leeds, England.
Winder Power says the achievement strengthens the company’s position as a trustworthy and safe service provider in the transformer industry and provides a great internal employee boost.
A dangerous working environment
As a power manufacturing company, Winder works in a highly technical and dangerous environment daily. The company specializes in the design, manufacture, deployment and management of distribution transformers and power transformers up to 60MVA. Its rotating-machines division (Newton Derby), is the leading manufacturer of exciters for the power generation industry.
Winder employs approximately 100 people and serves a wide range of customers in the utilities, renewable energy, and industrial sectors across the UK and internationally. Key clients include SSE plc, Northern Ireland Electricity, Electricity North West, GE Energy, Ineos Chemicals, Air Products and Powerteam.
Longest time without a reportable incident
“Our safety record is my proudest achievement since joining Winder Power in 2011,” said Winder’s Managing Director, Laurence MacKenzie. “This is the longest we have gone without a reportable incident and this success can be attributed to the diligent people we have at Winder. I am delighted our customers, and potential customers, know that any project we undertake is completed to the highest degrees of safety and standards.”
Winder Power attributes the improvement in its safety culture to a focus on the key causes of accidents, changing staff attitudes to safety and through setting targets both for employees and sub-contractors.
Employee engagement
“These efforts have communicated that Winder Power place safety at the forefront of everything they do and has focused individual ownership on safety in daily work practices – ensuring a positive approach by staff and a lack of complacency,” according to a statement from the company. “This employee engagement exercise has led to improved safety training and supervision resulting in an 800 day achievement. “
Company EHS Manager Jim Stockwell added: “Safety is of the utmost importance within the energy and power sectors and a top priority at Winder. We intend to continue to look for new ways to improve our safety procedures for the benefit or our staff and customers, and ensure that our safety record is maintained year-on-year. This achievement will serve us greatly going forward as a business.”
All companies within the power manufacturing industry must report accidents and occurrences to the HSE’s under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), a Statutory Instrument of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It regulates the statutory obligation to report deaths, injuries, diseases and "dangerous occurrences," including near misses, that take place at work or in connection with work.
The reporting of accidents and ill health at work has long been a legal requirement in the UK. The information enables the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local government authorities to identify where and how risks arise, and to investigate serious accidents".
Health & Safety Executive accident figures in Great Britain for 2013/14 show that there were:
- 133 Fatal Accidents
- 78000 other injuries to employees reported under RIDDOR.
- 1.2 million working people suffering from a work-related illness.
- 28.2 million working days lost due to work-related illness and workplace injury.
- £14.2 billion estimated cost of injuries and ill health from current working conditions (2012/13)
