Celebrating Over 4 million RIDDOR-Free Work Hours: An Interview with Health & Safety Director, John Madgwick
Gratte Brothers Group is proud to announce a major milestone in its safety journey… over 4 million work hours without a reportable injury! However, this extraordinary achievement is not just a number; it reflects years of dedication, vigilance, and a strong culture of safety that runs throughout the business.
We spoke with the Group’s HSEQ Director, John Madgwick, to understand what it takes to achieve and maintain such a remarkable record.
Q: Over 4 million injury-free work hours and an accident incident rate (AIR) of zero across the Group in 2024 is quite the achievement. You must be delighted with this result?
“Absolutely, it’s a fantastic outcome. When you think about the range of activities we undertake daily across the Group – from large construction projects to working in retail environments, fast-paced kitchens to welding in pre-fabrication facilities — the risks are very real. Achieving a zero Accident Incident Rate (AIR) across the Group is therefore no small feat and I am delighted to see that our efforts have resulted in ensuring a safe working environment for all. We last managed this AIR in 2019, but as we know, it only takes one slip of concentration to reset that clock. So, to reach this again in 2024 makes me incredibly proud of everyone involved.”
Q: Can you tell us more about the Health & Safety team at GB?
“Our team has grown significantly in the past 5-10 years and we now have a department of 10 professionals, structured across Health & Safety, Environment, and Quality. Each of these areas has a dedicated manager who oversees strategy and day-to-day operations and they all feed into each other. Our H&S Advisors either move between multiple sites or are permanently based on a large site and they work closely with management and operational staff to maintain high standards. Our Quality Department further supports the team by ensuring compliance through audits and will also be expanding further in 2025 to support our site operations more closely.”
Q: What systems and processes are in place to keep the workplace safe?
“Everything begins with our policies and procedures, which outline how we act and respond at Gratte Brothers. However, documentation alone doesn’t create a safe environment; it’s ultimately about culture. What I believe sets Gratte Brothers apart is our commitment to leading by example and empowering our people. If something isn’t safe, we stop the task, no exceptions. Encouraging this kind of behaviour and giving people the confidence to speak up as well as the mechanisms to provide frequent feedback is key to building a truly safe work environment.”
Q: How do you keep safety proactive rather than reactive?
“Our strength lies in checking, inspecting and auditing. We’re consistently monitoring our activities through regular checks, and our senior manager and director site tours ensure that leadership is engaged at every level. These visits, which result in formal reports, provide real-time feedback and help us course-correct when needed. Additionally, our HSEQ team is known for being approachable and anyone, from employees to contractors, knows that they can reach out. One of the objectives of our SafetyFirst initiative, which we relaunched in January is employee empowerment and this is instilled via the systems we have in place under the initiative, such as comment cards and safety forums, as well as our open-door policy, which all contribute to potential issues being flagged earlier so that we can act before they become a reality.”
Q: How do you ensure that everyone in the business has a voice in health and safety?
“Engagement from our teams is crucial because the Health & Safety team can’t be everywhere, so everyone has to be engaged in ensuring their own safety as well as that of their colleagues. So, we use a combination of employee-led SafetyFirst functions such as comment cards, a quarterly health and safety forum and site H&S representatives as well as management-level daily briefings, and toolbox talks to encourage open dialogue. This allows us to listen to feedback, review our processes and act as required. Education is also very important, so we run a quarterly H&S quiz for our people and our Health & Safety Manager deliver webinars throughout the year, focused on topics such as the creation of effective risk assessments and method statements. Finally, our open-door policy really reinforces that safety isn’t just top-down, it’s a shared responsibility and everyone needs to contribute.”
Q: And finally, how do you plan to maintain this outstanding performance through 2025?
“The biggest risk now is complacency. We have to stay focused and keep reinforcing the basics: effective risk assessments, compliance with procedures, proactive communication, and stopping work when something isn’t clear. Regular training, workshops, and ongoing visibility of the HSEQ team will also help keep the momentum going. The message must remain loud and clear — safety always comes first at Gratte Brothers.”
Looking Ahead
As we celebrate this fantastic achievement, the focus is firmly on the future and maintaining the momentum, reinforcing the culture, and continuing to raise the bar in workplace safety.