Glen Water, a joint venture company between Thames Water and Laing O’Rourke has presented the Donaghadee Branch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RLNI) with a cheque for £3,000 as part of its on-going commitment to maintaining high on-site health and safety standards.

International construction company Laing O’Rourke is responsible for the construction phase of Project Omega, Northern Ireland Water’s £122m Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme that will help create cleaner, healthier beaches along the North Down/Ards coastline.

Laing O’Rourke strives to set and maintain the highest safety standards in the construction industry. It operates a ‘Hazard Identification’ scheme on all of its construction sites, where employees are actively encouraged to report any potential sources of accident or lapse in health and safety protocols.

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Each time a potential hazard is identified a £5 donation is made to the RNLI and the employee receives a free breakfast in the on-site canteen.

“The scheme has been running successfully since February 2006 and has helped to reinforce the importance of meeting and exceeding health and safety standards amongst all Project staff,” said Peter Dew, Project Leader, Laing O’Rourke.

“With an international work force across all of our sites it is imperative that all health and safety procedures are communicated in appropriate languages and that any potential risks are quickly identified and minimised. The ‘Hazard Identification’ scheme strives to ensure all our employees return home safely everyday,” said Peter.

“The scheme has been a great success and to date over 655,000 hours have been worked on Project Omega, at six geographically independent sites, without a single reportable accident. This very significant achievement is a tribute to the diligence and professionalism of every member of the Omega site team,” said Jim Conlon, General Manager, Glen Water.

“We selected the RNLI to be the beneficiary of the scheme as they face similar health and safety issues on a daily basis and must ensure the highest level of safety for volunteers whilst they rescue others in dangerous situations,” said Peter Dew, Project Leader, Laing O’Rourke.

Welcoming the donation, Philip McNamara (Lifeboat Coxswain) from the Donaghadee Branch RNLI said: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank Glen Water for its continued support. This generous donation will contribute toward the running costs of the Lifeboat.”

(JM/SP)