Employee up for Rising Star of the Year Award

A TJ employee has been shortlisted for SHE’s Rising Star of the Year Award 2020 after successfully implementing new health and safety initiatives within the organisation.

Health & Safety Compliance Supervisor, Jack MacFarlane has been selected as a finalist for the award, which is part of the Safety & Health Excellence Awards 2020.

Jack joined TJ in 2018 and is responsible for the day-to-day health and safety across TJ’s two interlinked companies, combining the transport, quarries, waste and recycling industries. Carrying out regular site audits, workplace accident and near-miss investigations, as well as delivering in-house training on a regular basis are amongst his daily tasks.

Within his first six months, Jack transformed the way TJ delivered their annual in-house inductions for their employees. He developed and implemented a new ‘school-day’, round robin session format to replace the existing all-day lecture arrangement. The inductions are spread across three days at two different locations for both TJ Waste and TJ Transport employees. Jack planned and aided the delivery of the content to up to 20 employees at a time, for hour-long sessions.

This new hour-long session format incorporated different learning methods such as videos, group work, paperwork activities and open discussions, as well as content being delivered by Jack and other members of staff. This varied approach ensured employees remained engaged throughout the day, rather than losing interest at the back of a large lecture hall. Content was focused on ensuring employees knew about company policies and procedures, but it also developed an awareness of topics such as asbestos, stress and well-being.

Employees enjoyed a change of scene part way through the day as one of the sessions was delivered outside by driver assessors and managers. This was a practical session on how to comply with the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations by demonstrating to employees how to properly conduct their daily checks of company vehicles. This included a rigid tipper, skip and grab lorries as well as a 360-degree excavator.

One of the classroom sessions focussed on the importance of raising near misses to help improve safety standards. This resulted in the number of reported near misses rising by 249% from 2017 to 2018 and then a 95% increase on the total number of reported near misses from 2018 to 2019.

There was a 39% decrease in workplace accidents from 2018 to 2019. There was also a 33% reduction in RIDDOR-reportable incidents from 2017 to 2018, followed by a 100% reduction from 2018 to 2019. In the January 2019 Inductions, an impressive 74% of employees said they learnt something new and this year that percentage rose to a staggering 96%.

The awards dinner is to be held on 22 September 2020 at The Vox, NEC Birmingham. The Awards will be hosted by comedian Hugh Dennis who’s a team captain on BBC’s Mock the Week. Last year the gala dinner was attended by more than 520 industry professionals, making it a great chance to network.

Jack is a strong contender for the award because of the success he has had in his role, which is his first full-time job since leaving university. He has embraced the challenges and undertaken industry-relevant training such as the NCRQ Level 6 Certificate in Applied Health and Safety, NCRQ Level 6 Certificate in Personal Injury & Absence Reduction and a two-day Mental Health First Aider course.

Jack stepped out of his comfort zone to present and deliver information to large groups of people, many a lot older and more experienced than himself. In addition to this, in September 2019, he delivered industry-relevant information to senior safety practitioners at the WISH Awareness Day at Veolia in Leicestershire on machinery guarding and isolation.

TJ’s Managing Director John Gosling said: “We’re extremely pleased that Jack has been shortlisted for the SHE Rising Star award as this reflects his continued efforts, hard work and diligence. Although it’s early days in his career, we have identified Jack’s potential and willingness to learn as a great asset to the company now and long into the future.”

Find out more about Jack in our staff interview or about the services TJ offers.