Putting People First Adds up for Ernst and Young

Ernst & Young is one of the world’s leading firms specialising in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Working closely with them, System Concepts assists the company in operating a wide-ranging health and safety programme with the aim of providing optimum working conditions for its entire workforce.

System Concepts provides a number of health, safety, ergonomics and accessibility services to EY’s two London offices and eighteen offices sited elsewhere in the UK.

On-site operational support

Prompt day-to-day operational health and safety support is supplied by dedicated on-site consultants, while more specialist work is carried out off-site or by bringing in extra consultants when they are needed.

Two directors from System Concepts meet every month with the on-site health and safety team and the EY Enterprise Risk Director to review program of work being done and brief the senior management team on changes in legislation and developments in best practice.

Tanya Heasman, Joint Managing Director of System Concepts, explains “With dedicated professionals on-site we are able to work as an integral part of the EY team and respond promptly to key issues as they arise.  Our consultants manage the roll out of EY’s national health and safety framework, review the effectiveness of all procedures, and help to ensure that any necessary changes are implemented.”

The on-site team work closely with EY’s Senior Management, Human Resources, Facilities Management and Occupational Health teams to proactively identify ways to make the workforce safer and more productive.  Recent initiatives that they have been involved in include:

• a work-related stress steering group, stress risk assessments and focus groups
• a disability working group advising on reasonable adjustments for staff with disabilities
• developing personal emergency evacuation plans for staff with mobility, visual and hearing impairments
• carrying out risk assessments for on-site events and away days, for example a sailing challenge for 300 people, abseiling down nine floors in the London head office in aid of Comic Relief, on-site charity events with 400 guests and community investment team building days.

Specialist services

The on-site team can call on other System Concepts’ specialists whenever they judge it is necessary.  Recently this has included:

• writing specific policies and procedures and keeping them up to date
• undertaking display screen assessments for home-workers
• carrying out fire risk assessments
• carrying out full accessibility audits

Training

Training is an important part of keeping staff safe and well motivated.  System Concepts provide in-house training, customised to EY policies and procedures and using examples from their own business.  Some recent courses include:

• Safe manual handling techniques
• Display screen equipment assessor training
• Managing Safely; an Institution of Occupational Health and Safety (IOSH) approved course for departmental managers.

Karine Yates, senior consultant on site concludes “We provide EY with best practice in health and safety, which allows them to concentrate on providing their expertise to their own clients.”

Last updated: June, 2009

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