Andy Battye, health and safety director for VolkerFitzpatrick comments: “For the PALS programme to be in its 10^th year demonstrates how fully committed VolkerFitzpatrick is to creating and sustaining a great place to work and we recognise the participation and dedication of all who work for our business, whether that be directly or indirectly. We pride ourselves on keeping the programme fresh and in line with external influences and are looking forward to developing the programme further.”

With the support of the PALS programme, VolkerFitzpatrick’s accident frequency rate has fallen over the past 10 years, as has the number of lost time injuries occurring. The programme has won numerous industry awards and many of our supply chain partners have even adopted the programme to enhance the performance of their own people.

The culture behind the programme is that we Plan before we start work, have the right Attitude and mindset, Lead by example and Share to help others get it right. In simple terms, we are seeking to ensure that everyone looks after their ‘PALS.’  The programme has supported the implementation of new processes and procedures, including most recently, caring for our own mental health and ensuring we retain focus on all the traditional risks which still exist. The programme is currently supporting the Reflect, Review, Reset campaign, designed to make working on all projects safer.

We provide a suite of continually reviewed and modified training sessions, predominantly in risk assessment training, environmental awareness, manual handling and behavioural awareness training. On top of this, everyone is encouraged to question any matters of concern and given the opportunity to develop improvements.

​We are proud to say that, today, we have over 150 PALS volunteer coaches, who are committed to increasing awareness of all matters of HSEQS and ensuring that all our staff receive a quarterly PALS briefing. We owe the success of the programme to these coaches, and to the participation, support, and innovation of individuals throughout the company.