Barclays - Making a Sound Investment in its Employees

Operating in over 60 countries with a workforce of more than 76,200, Barclays is one of the largest financial services groups in the world and invests substantially in a wide-ranging health and safety policy to safeguard one of its greatest assets - its employees.

In the UK, System Concepts has been providing ergonomics, health, safety and disability services to Barclays Bank since 1991, and has carried out a wide variety of projects during this time including branch and counter design, health and safety audits and assessments and assistance with furniture procurement.

Barclays has been using System Concepts’ services since 1991 and consistently chooses to work with the consultancy thanks to its expertise and the quality of support provided.  Jacquie Hill, group health and wellbeing manager explained, “Barclays recognises the influence and importance of health, safety and ergonomics on the well being of its staff, and by taking an ergonomics approach, the organisation also gains many productivity benefits when designing jobs and setting up workplaces for its staff.

“The quality and consistency of System Concepts’ work means that we can have complete confidence in their support and advice.  The team works with individuals within specific branches, as well as operating as a key part of project groups working on nationwide initiatives, but on any level, the consultants work seamlessly with our operation and are always prepared to put in extra time and effort.  System Concepts’ pedigree and ongoing work with high profile organisations such as the Health and Safety Executive also underlines the credibility of their work.”

The System Concepts’ team is led by Director Tanya Heasman, who has been involved with Barclays since the first project in 1991, and explains “Acting as an approved supplier to the bank, we are involved in most of Barclays’ procurement and branch redesign projects.  Barclays adopts best practice by piloting many of its prototype solutions within a small sample of branches.  System Concepts assists in these projects by conducting ergonomics and health and safety evaluations of the designs and working environment using a range of techniques.”

These methods include administering questionnaires to Barclays staff, making ergonomics observations of people using prototype equipment, and discussing the usability of the designs with staff using the equipment at the different styles of workstation or counter.  Evaluations also take into account the requirements of people with disabilities.  System Concepts’ findings and recommendations help Barclays to identify and avoid equipment and designs that are less suitable for its staff and their tasks, and to choose those which are best on a number of ergonomics, health, safety and productivity criteria. 

Gareth Brown, DIR Solution Architect, commented on a recent report, “Whilst I've always been keen to get a 'tick in the box' with regards ergonomics, I believe that System Concepts has added value throughout the project lifecycle. This has led to an improved solution that will ultimately benefit cashiers in the network.”

Working with System Concepts in this way has brought many benefits to Barclays.  A major factor is that the organisation now avoids expenditure on equipment which is unsuitable for its staff and their tasks, and likely to lead to discomfort if used.  Providing a comfortable and safe environment for its employees also increases productivity, reduces sickness and absenteeism rates and increases awareness and morale amongst staff by making it clear that the organisation takes these issues seriously.

One of the most recent projects was an ergonomics and health and safety evaluation of seven prospective schemes for workstation furniture systems and IT equipment to be used in Barclays’ new headquarters in Canary Wharf, London.  To ensure that the equipment was evaluated in ‘real life’ conditions, an entire floor of an office building was taken over in order for the suppliers to construct examples of proposed workstations. 

System Concepts’ consultants then set to work, checking every aspect of the equipment from the health and safety implications for employees to ease of maintenance for IT staff.  Following this in-depth assessment, recommendations were then put forward for consideration during the procurement process.

The majority of assessments take place in branches around the UK, and over the course of its longstanding partnership with Barclays, System Concepts has undertaken a diverse range of assignments.

Another recent project was an ergonomics, health, safety and accessibility evaluation, for people with visual and motor disabilities, of prototype ‘Touchdown’ (enquiry point) and ‘Service Point’ (self-service telephone) equipment in Moorgate branch. 

System Concepts has also conducted several kinetic lifting and manual handling assessor courses for various Barclays’ departments, especially in branches where high volumes of coin are handled. 

Other projects have included a risk assessment of a scanner intended for use in one of Barclays London buildings, workstation assessments for Barclays home and office workers who use portable computers and a review of low level counters designed for easy access for people with disabilities. 

Thanks to the important benefits it offers, the wide-ranging service provided by System Concepts for Barclays is set to continue, with the consultancy responding to requirements from across the Barclays organisation in the UK with a tailored programme of activity.

Jacquie Hill adds, “System Concepts’ assessments and reports deliver good, practical recommendations that bring tangible benefits and add value across the organisation.  Moreover, our working partnership with the consultancy ensures that we are achieving compliance with best practice in ergonomics, health and safety legislation and standards.”

Last updated: July, 2009

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