When a contractor carries out a project, customers rightly expect the work to be performed safely, professionally and according to schedule. But safety goes far beyond wearing personal protective equipment or putting up safety signage. It starts during the preparation phase and remains a priority throughout the entire project.
At ICOMET GROUP, our aim is not only to protect our own employees, but also the customer’s personnel, visitors and everyone else present on site. At the same time, we organise our work in such a way that our customers’ day-to-day operations are disrupted as little as possible.
Our Facility & Safety Officer, Jan Van Driessche, supports our project teams in achieving this. From risk assessments and training to workplace inspections and incident follow-up, they work together to ensure that safety is structurally embedded in the way we prepare and carry out our projects.
Safety starts before we even arrive on site
Before any work begins, we identify the potential risks associated with the project. What exactly needs to be done? What kind of environment will we be working in? What specific requirements does the customer have? Will there be work at height? Will buildings, installations or production lines remain operational during our work? What equipment and personal protective equipment will be required?
“Safety is already taken into consideration during the preparation of a project,” Jan explains. “Together with the project management team, we analyse the site and determine which measures are needed to carry out the work safely.”
For non-routine or higher-risk activities, this preparation includes a Task Risk Analysis (TRA). This examines the task to be performed, the hazards involved, the resulting risks and the measures required to control them.
Immediately before starting a task, a Last Minute Risk Analysis (LMRA) is also carried out. At the workplace itself, the employee performs a final safety check: Do I fully understand the task? Do I know the risks? Do I have the correct protective equipment? Do I know what to do in an emergency?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, work does not simply go ahead as planned. The situation is first addressed so that the task can be performed safely.
What does this mean in practice on site?
Imagine that our employees need to carry out work in an operational production environment. The customer’s activities continue, their employees remain present and other contractors may also be working on site at the same time.
In that situation, it is clearly not enough to consider only our own activities.
Before starting, we look at where and when the work needs to be carried out, what is happening around our work area and what additional risks this may create. Does the area need to be cordoned off? Is additional signage required? Does an installation or production line need to be temporarily shut down? Could the work be scheduled at another time to minimise disruption to production? Are additional measures needed to protect the customer’s employees or other people on site?
Specific risks also require specific solutions. When working at height, for example, we determine which type of scaffolding is required and verify that it has been properly inspected. In an operational environment, we work with the customer to determine the safest time to carry out the work and whether certain installations need to be temporarily shut down.
Communication and coordination are essential.
“On complex sites, main contractors, subcontractors and the customer often work alongside each other,” Jan says. “Good communication is therefore essential. Problems or changing circumstances need to be discussed on site so that everyone can continue working safely.”
Immediately before the work begins, the LMRA provides one final check. Is the situation still as expected? Is the workplace safe? Have any new activities or risks emerged in the meantime?
Safety is therefore not a theoretical plan prepared in advance and then filed away. It is continuously assessed against the actual conditions on site.
Working safely with minimal impact on the customer’s operations
This approach provides another important benefit for our customers.
In production companies and other operational environments, a complete shutdown is often neither desirable nor feasible. We therefore work with the customer to find a way of carrying out the project that combines safety with business continuity as effectively as possible.
Good planning, clear communication, appropriate signage, good housekeeping and a carefully organised work area do more than reduce risks. They also help ensure that the customer’s employees can continue to work safely and that business processes are disrupted as little as possible.
Safety and efficiency are therefore not opposing priorities. On the contrary, a well-prepared site helps prevent unforeseen problems, damage and unnecessary downtime.
VCA**: a structured approach to safety
Thanks to the VCA** certifications within ICOMET GROUP, our customers can rely on a structured approach to safety, trained employees and clear procedures for risk assessment, execution and follow-up.
“A VCA certificate is not an absolute guarantee that nothing can ever go wrong,” Jan points out. “But it does demonstrate that safety is addressed systematically and that employees have received safety awareness training.”
In practice, this includes TRAs and LMRAs, toolbox meetings, workplace inspections, the use of properly inspected work equipment, appropriate personal protective equipment and demonstrable training and qualifications.
New employees receive safety instructions and, depending on their role, our colleagues hold either a VCA Basic or VCA VOL certificate. Additional training is provided for specific activities where required. Every year, our Safety Day also brings all employees together with one central focus: safety.
Our safety approach is also subject to external audits. Safety is therefore not a voluntary commitment, but a structured system whose implementation and follow-up can be demonstrated.
Safety takes priority
Good preparation can prevent many risks, but conditions on a worksite can change. A professional team must therefore also know how to respond when circumstances change.
“When a situation becomes unsafe, the work is stopped,” Jan explains. “Together with project management, the customer and any other parties involved, we then determine how the situation can be resolved safely.”
The same principle applies when there is pressure on deadlines. If time pressure risks compromising safety, the schedule is reassessed and additional resources or personnel can be deployed where necessary.
Near misses are also recorded and investigated. The lessons learned are shared through toolbox meetings so that the entire organisation — not just the employees directly involved — can benefit from them.
According to Jan, this is ultimately what a genuine safety culture is about: “Safety needs to become a reflex. Everyone, from management to the people carrying out the work, must regard safety as a personal responsibility.”
Safety as an integral part of quality
For our customers, a professional approach to safety means much more than preventing workplace accidents.
It protects our own employees as well as the customer’s personnel. It helps prevent damage to buildings and installations, reduces the risk of unexpected downtime and allows work to be coordinated more effectively with the customer’s day-to-day operations.
When ICOMET GROUP starts work on a site, customers can therefore expect safety to be organised from the outset: competent employees, inspected equipment, appropriate protective equipment, clear agreements and a team that knows how to identify, report and control risks.
Jan sums it up perfectly:
“Safety is not simply a checklist for an audit. It is an integral part of the way we work. We think ahead, control risks before they become problems and carry out our work with respect for safety, quality, planning and the customer’s operations.”
Because a successful project is not measured solely by the quality of the final result. It is also a project where everyone can work safely and where our customer’s operations can continue as much as possible.