Glaston are Safe Contractor Approved

We have always prided ourselves on our safe working practices, in meeting extremely high standards of Health and Safety and in being a trusted contractor to our customers. Now we have the accreditations to support our ethos.

Glaston is now Safe Contractor Approved and SafeContractor PQQ certified. This means that we have been judged by an independent, objective body to be a sound business in terms of our financial and ethical values, and more importantly, in terms of quality and safety. So, whether we’re designing and delivering a complete air compressor installation, or simply providing you with an air compressor for hire, you can be certain that our working practices are of the highest safety standards and you have the peace of mind that we will treat our customers, suppliers and our staff ethically and fairly at all stages.

What does it mean to be SafeContractor Approved?

SafeContractor is an accreditation that demonstrates to customers that a contractor meets specific standards of health and safety. SafeContractor was set up and developed as a means for reducing independent auditing by both public and private organisations when they want to employ contractors, suppliers or consultants. The process to gain approval takes the applicant through a review of health and safety procedures and, once approved, can be used as proof that the business meets those required standards.

During the SafeContractor approval process, we were assessed against a whole range of criteria, including:

• Work equipment procedures
• Health and safety training
• First aid provision
• Risk and COSHH assessments
• Electrical safety
• Manual handling
• Accident reporting
• Fire risk assessments

What is Safe PQQ certification?

SafeContractor PQQ is an optional extension of the SafeContractor system. It provides organisations with greater visibility of their supply chain compliance and includes the common question sets that are already defined within PAS91 and is therefore aligned with this standard. SafeContractor PQQ collects and verifies information covering a range of topics to give customers confidence that their contractor carries out business in an ethical and sustainable way. Topics covered are:

• Data protection – ensuring that we comply with GDPR and that Glaston uses data responsibly and fairly.
• Financial information – this area looks at the financial status and security of the business.
• Modern slavery – compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 is covered in this section.
• Anti-bribery and corruption – this helps to protect our own business and employees, as well as those within our supply chain.
• Environmental – assessing the efficient use of resources and the reduction of waste, this area looks at our environmental management and how we manage associated risks.
• Quality – by reviewing our QMS (quality management system), the SafeContractor PQQ ensures that we meet the needs and expectations of our customers, something particularly critical when responsible for installing high-usage industrial equipment such as air compressors.
• Equality and Diversity – this section of the SafeContractor PQQ is designed to ensure that we treat our staff fairly and do not discriminate. Using the Equality Act 2010 as the underlying benchmark, our equality management arrangements are reviewed in detail.
• BIM (Building Information Modelling) – this area is specific to the Government’s Construction Strategy 2016-20, whereby all funded building projects must meet BIM Level 2, and is filtered through the supply chain to all contractors and suppliers; any company working in the construction industry is likely to look for BIM evidence through the SafeContractor PQQ certification.
• References – it is recommended that references are provided from recent projects undertaken, in our case those such as air compressor installations.

How do our customers benefit?

Ultimately, we have gone through the SafeContractor PQQ process to provide our customers with peace of mind and to reinforce trust. To achieve both SafeContractor approval and Safe PQQ certification, we have had to demonstrate that we are sound in terms of our business process, financials, ethics and in our quality procedures. Whether our customers want to talk to us about air compressor finance packages, or are looking to hire a nitrogen generator, they know they are in safe hands.