| Environment Bringing benefits to the environment The Keller Group recognises the impact of its business on the environment, with many of its products contributing environmental benefits. These include land reclamation schemes, soil erosion control, flood control, decontamination or containment of contamination and the preparation of brownfield sites. At Keller Ground Engineering (KGE), the commitment to improving and conserving the natural environment led to the appointment in 2003 of two new environmental specialists to augment the existing geoenvironmental team. KGE made good progress during the year with its permeable reactive barrier (PRB) system for the control of contaminated ground water, which is being used in a large clean up operation at the site of a former textiles facility in Northern England. More traditional methods of controlling contaminated ground water, such as slurry cut-off walls, continue to be offered as effective and economic alternatives. Group companies were involved in various dam remediation schemes, forming part of a worldwide focus on upgrading major dams to prevent premature failure due to soil erosion and earthquake. For example, in Poland we installed slurry walls on dams along the river Wisla, in Germany we installed a cut-off membrane wall on a dam along the Rhine, whilst Keller-Terra was involved in the grouting of dams in the Navarre, Lerida, Orense and Zaragoza regions. Our Makers business is working with local authorities and housing associations in the UK on the structural refurbishment of social housing, much of which was constructed in the 1960s and 1970s. As an alternative to demolition and rebuild, these projects are resource efficient and have fewer environmental impacts. In addition, they invariably bring thermal efficiency benefits, resulting in reduced energy consumption. Environmental management systems Notwithstanding the positive impacts of many of the schemes in which we are involved, we do recognise that many of our site activities have environmental effects. Most notably, these involve noise, dust and slurry emissions and the use of specialist products, such as grouts. We have a continuous programme of trying to mitigate these impacts by, for example, selecting new plant with reduced noise emissions, researching the viability of new, more benign materials and seeking better ways of capturing waste from drilling. In Australia, Franki has invested in two new “silenced” hydraulic hammers, which have significantly reduced noise levels and the impact on the environment, whilst Vibropile has developed in-house vibration free systems for areas where driven piles are prohibited. Both of these companies use rotary displacement piles in areas of contaminated soil, where its removal could otherwise lead to significant pollution issues. Our environmental management systems are not uniform across the Group. Our businesses, which have their own environmental policies, have each adopted a system that reflects local regulations, culture and business needs. In Australia, for example, Franki has developed an Environmental Noise and Vibration Management Plan, which is modified to suit the specific requirements of individual sites. This plan involves community consultation, including advising local residents and businesses of the duration of Franki’s activities and providing an in-house contact who will discuss their concerns. The KGE environmental management system, which complies with ISO14001, is now fully integrated with other business processes. An “environmental performance” satisfaction rating was added to KGE’s customer satisfaction survey at the start of 2003 which is providing an independent measurement of performance to complement the internal review and external audit processes. Working with the community Most projects in which Group companies are involved are located in remote areas, away from local populations and, therefore, there is usually little impact on, or relationship with, a local community. For most of our businesses, support for local community projects is indirect – by, for example, sponsoring or supporting the efforts of employees who are involved in charitable or community projects. A notable exception to this is Makers which, through its social housing refurbishment schemes, has significant interfaces with residents and community groups. Makers prides itself in having an effective dialogue with residents, which includes the distribution of site brochures (often in several languages) to advise residents on how they will be affected by their works. Health and safety As with environmental management systems, there is no single health and safety management system across the Group, as each business is subject to different safety standards and regulations. There is, however, a strong safety culture within all the businesses, which means that safety features high on the senior management agenda, safety training at all levels is taken very seriously and, on the ground, significant resources are dedicated to inspecting job sites for potential hazards and giving on site “toolbox talks” to ensure that safety awareness governs the daily work activities. In North America, a company’s safety record, relative to other businesses, is measured through the experience modification rating (EMR). A low score indicates a good safety record. In 2003 the combined EMR for Hayward Baker, Case and McKinney was 0.73, against an industry standard rating of 1.00 and a previous year’s rating (Case and Hayward Baker only) of 0.69. All our North American operations continue to achieve incident rates, as calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, significantly below the industry average. For example, in 2003 the recordable incident rate for Hayward Baker was 1.3, against the national construction industry average of 7.1, per 100 workers. |
| This improvement reflects the effort and resources which are dedicated to improving safety performance. Case, Hayward Baker, McKinney and Suncoast each employ full-time safety professionals and have implemented various proactive programmes such as pre-job hazard analysis, project specific safety plans and task specific training, in an effort to reduce |