The UK’s leading plant, tool and equipment rental company is hosting its annual Safety Week from 26th – 30th November and this year the focus is on mental health in the workplace.
Featuring a series of mandatory briefings, digital presentations and activities, A-Plant‘s awareness campaign ‘Are you A ok?’ will aim to remove the stigma surrounding mental health, whilst also providing the company’s 3,600 colleagues with a wealth of advice, guidance and general well-being tips.
Douglas McLuckie, Director of Risk Management at A-Plant, said he hopes the initiative will create greater understanding and carry the conversation surrounding mental health into the workplace.
He said: “A-Plant’s commitment to health and safety extends to all areas of the business and this year’s Safety Week shines a light on a topic that isn’t as widely discussed as it should be. Our new ‘Are you A ok?’ campaign has been structured to help facilitate a discussion around mental health, eliminating any awkwardness, in the hope that one day having a chat about mental health will be as normal as discussing an individual having a cold.
“During the week-long initiative we will be distributing support leaflets, screening an emotive, specially filmed video that addresses the effects of mental health in the workplace and supplying service centres with a range of useful information. The company already has an excellent track record for its health and safety performance from a wide range of industry bodies and we are committed to continually setting new standards for our employers, partners and the industries in which we operate.”
A-Plant’s Safety Week will also feature advice and expertise on how to prevent injuries amongst the teams carrying out the delivery and collection of the company’s core equipment, as well as encouraging people to consider driver loading/unloading safe practice.
The themes, which will also be reinforced throughout the year, complement A-Plant’s on-going health and safety initiatives, including the company’s Work Safe Home Safe campaign, which encourages teams to take personal responsibility for the way they work.
Douglas explained: “Our aim is to encourage our teams to not just look after their own Health and Safety, but also that of their colleagues, by offering support to those who need it and being aware of the impact that any poor health and safety behaviour can have on the entire team and their families. More than 10 years ago A-Plant was among the first company of its kind to be SafeHire accredited and today it continues to meet the rigorous inspection standards set by Hire Association Europe (HAE) and Event Hire Association (EHA).”
A-Plant has successfully retained its Whole Fleet Accreditation status under the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS Gold) which drives best practice across the fleet industry.
A-Plant is a ten-time winner of the RoSPA Gold Award for Occupational Health and Safety. The awards from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) recognise continuous improvement in accident and ill-health prevention at work.
