Hardies Property & Construction Consultants, which has fourteen offices across Scotland, including an office at Spademill Lane, Aberdeen, has been awarded accreditation from Safecontractor for its commitment to achieving excellence in health and safety.
Safecontractor is a leading third party accreditation scheme which recognises very high standards in health and safety management amongst UK contractors.
Hardies, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013, is one of Scotland’s largest multi discipline surveying firms. It serves clients in both the private and public sectors with a complete operation in property and construction development, including property valuation, building and quantity surveying and project management. The firm also handles the leasing and sale of commercial and industrial buildings; CDM Co-ordination and the provision of Energy Performance Certificates. Altogether, Hardies employ over 100 members of staff, professionally qualified in various disciplines.
The company’s application for Safecontractor accreditation was driven by the need for a uniform standard across the business. Said Derek Ferrier, Hardies Managing Partner: “We are delighted to achieve this latest health and safety accreditation which comes hot on the heels of us receiving an excellent health and safety audit from Ellis Whittam, a leading H & S and Employment Law firm.”
“They praised our day to day practices on health and safety in our own offices. Supplying Health and Safety services to the construction industry is one of our major sectors here at Hardies, from site audits, safety awareness courses and site specific induction talks to deploying a full Safety, Quality & Environmental Management System for small to medium contractors.”
“Obviously we want to take care of our employees, and so workplace safety is very important in an office environment as is also ensuring that we meet all of the required legislation,” added Derek.
Added Derek: “With the help of Ellis Whittam, we have developed robust and efficient health and safety systems, and they continue to work with us, to keep up these exceptional standards. Now that we also have SafeContractor we feel that we are providing our clients and other suppliers with whom we work on sites, with the utmost peace of mind.”
John Kinge, technical director of Safecontractor said: "Well done Hardies. More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that Hardies has done. The firm’s high standard has set an example which hopefully will be followed by other companies within this important sector. As consultants and advisors, Hardies serve the needs of the construction industry, working closely with them on a daily basis.”
“Safecontractor plays a vital role in supporting our clients in meeting their compliance needs, whilst working with their contractors as they progress through the accreditation process,” he added.
Under the Safecontractor scheme, 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.
Over 210 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.