Raymond Brown visit after school club ‘The Roost’ at Nightingale Primary School

Raymond Brown visited pupils from the after school club, The Roost, ran by Integr8 sports, to teach pupils about the importance of recycling and how Raymond Brown staff stay safe when on sites.

The children had the opportunity to try on PPE (personal protective clothing), including safety glasses, hi-vis  clothing and hard hats, whilst Raymond Brown staff explained the importance of being seen on site and how the PPE protects them.

Equipped with some mixed waste, Communications and Marketing Manager, Kerry Hayman, challenged pupils to segregate the rubbish into recyclable waste and non-recyclable waste.  Kerry then explained how non-recyclable waste is incinerated, generating electricity and then how the ash is recycled into an aggregate, which is used to build sub-bases of roads.

Pupils were then put into teams and given a workbook to complete, which included exercises such as a word search and challenging questions about where household rubbish goes.  All children received prizes for their positive suggestions and answers.

Lynda Hardiman-Pearce at Intergr8 Sports commented, “We are always looking for new challenges for our pupils at The Roost.  It was great to hear Raymond Brown employees talk about the importance of recycling and how they keep themselves safe on their sites.  The gifts were a real hit, especially the hard-hat pencil sharpeners!”

3,880 Mixed Broadleaf Trees and Shrubs planted at Brickworth Quarry

The Brickworth Quarry team are in the process of planting around 5,000 mixed broadleaf trees and shrubs as part of the restoration of Round Corpse North.

The 3,880 planted so far consist of Oak, Hornbeam, Sweet Chestnut, Copper Beach, Field Maple, Common Alder, Hazel, Hawthorn and Guelder Rose.

This forms part of the final stages of the restoration of Round Copse North back to broadleaf woodland.

 

International visitors for Energy from Waste (EfW) Conference welcomed to Ardley for ERF and IBA Processing Facility Tour

Ardley ERF welcomed international visitors as part of the EfW Conference 2019 by Viridor’s Edward Thomas Performance Manager and enjoyed a site tour with Jim Thompson, Ardley ERF Site Operations Manager and Martyn Jones, Unit Manager of Fortis IBA.

Martyn provided an overview of Fortis’ unique onsite operations and how Oxfordshire’s IBA Aggregate is used as a secondary resource within the construction industry.

Raymond Brown Quarry Products joins MPQC

The Mineral Products Qualifications Council is a not for profit organisation and Raymond Brown Quarry Products’ membership will provide the business with valuable resources relating to the industry, including education, training and qualifications.  They are also a leading provider of high-quality training, assessment and apprenticeships.

 

Fortis becomes a member of the Environmental Services Association

The Environmental Services Association (ESA) is the trade body representing the UK’s resource and waste management industry.  Their primary aim is to raise environmental and safety standards across the industry, working with members to develop guidance to continually improve safety, efficiency and the environment.

Ben Jacobs, HSQE Manager said: “ESA membership provides Fortis with access to industry information which will allow us to improve our health, safety, and environmental practices, ensuring we meet our goals of keeping people safe and protecting the environment.  As members we will have the opportunity to inform, consult and debate to help shape the future of our growing industry.”

 

Fortis IBA Appoint New Senior Hydrogeologist

Fortis IBA Ltd is pleased to welcome their new Senior Hydrogeologist, Tim Wilkins to the team..

Tim is a geoscientist with 15 years’ experience and is a fellow of the Geological Society of London. After completing a master’s degree in Hydrogeology, Tim has gone on to specialise in groundwater quality risk assessments and has worked for almost a decade in the waste management sector.

Tim’s primary role is to ensure that every site that IBA aggregate is supplied to is suitable for its use and that Fortis maintain the highest environmental standards. Tim will be working alongside researchers, regulators, industry and other stakeholders to continue the development of IBA Aggregate assessments, processes and regulation.

Fortis IBA’s managing director, Lee Thompson, commented “We are delighted to welcome Tim to the team. His wealth of experience and specialist skills are significant addition to the business and a key step in the Fortis growth strategy”

New Viewing Platform at Binnegar Quarry

Binnegar Quarry now has its own dedicated visitor footpath and area, thanks to the quarry team building a new viewing platform.

Binnegar’s quarry team have built a wooden decked platform with hand rails and information boards, so that visitors can learn about and see the entire quarry operations in action.

Quarry Manager Simon Pinto, said: “Binnegar is such a stunning site and we wanted to build a viewing platform here because of the great views this spot has over the quarry. Should any community groups or local residents wish to visit our site, please do not hesitate to contact us so we can book you in for a tour.”

Photo: Councillor Cherry Brooks and local resident, Ian join Operations Manager, Marcus Dredge and Quarry Manager, Simon Pinto on the new viewing platform.

Operations progress at Brickworth Quarry

We are pleased to announce that quarrying operations have progressed into Phase 2 of Area A with the extraction of soft sand at approximately 150,000 tonnes per annum.

Phase 3 of Area A is currently being felled in preparation for quarrying.

The Round Copse North Area has been restored and soils have been placed, tree planting will commence in this area shortly and Lowdens Copse has been backfilled using inert materials and soils are due to be placed for restoration in Spring 2019.

The current landfill operation is progressing well in Phase 1 of Area A and is planned to receive direct placement of the soils excavated from Phase 3 of Area A.

2018 Core Value Awards for Four Employees

Two years ago we introduced three core values to the business: Passion, Responsibility and Engagement.  As part of the Employee Satisfaction Surveys, we again asked employees to nominate their colleagues under each of the core value categories.

As a result of these nominations, four individuals were selected for exemplifying our core values within the workplace and acknowledged on 24 November at the Staff Christmas party with an award and gift voucher.

Passion – Simon Pinto, Binnegar Quarry Manager

Simon has been with the business for 11 years, having started as a plant operator.  He has worked his way up through the company and most recently, stepped up whilst Felicity Breuning is on maternity leave.  In this time, he has overseen the relocation and installation of the new wash plant on site.

Simon’s colleagues have praised his managerial skills and described him as being very professional in the way he communicates with both staff, subcontractors, customers and the local community and that he has a lot of respect from the site team.

Responsibility – Annmarie Read, Senior Site Technician

Annmarie has been with the business for two and half years, having supported the sites and grown her team in this time.  Annmarie has been described by her colleagues as a hard worker and passionate about about making sure the company works to very high standards.

Engagement – Wayne Read, Fortis IBA A303 Processing Facility Assistant Site Manager

Wayne has worked with the business for seven years and was this year promoted from Plant Fitter to Assistant Site Manager for Fortis.  Wayne has been described as always looking for ways to improve both operations and the business.

Overall – Vanessa Smith, Shift Manager at the A303 Materials Recovery Facility

Vanessa stood out across all areas with a remarkable number of nominations.  She was also nominated last year and was the winner of the Responsibility Award.

Vanessa has been described as being very helpful and wanting to progress and develop site staff whilst putting safety first.  Employees have said that it is a privilege to work with her and that she is:

“A very experienced manager with great people skills, very health and safety conscious and always looking for ways to improve.”

“She is always very helpful to everyone, takes care of details and always gets the job done in the best possible way.”

Safety Training Day for Raymond Brown Group’s 17 Safety Representatives

17 Safety Representatives from across the Raymond Brown Group took part in a Safety Training Day earlier this month at the A303 Enviropark.

The Safety Representatives were appointed this year from across each of the group businesses and their role is to raise awareness in health and safety and to help improve safety culture across the sites.

The training day was run by Heather McLintock, Health, Safety & Audit Manager, and its aim was to help recognise and control hazards within all aspects of the workplace environment as well as giving the representatives the opportunity to engage with each other and share feedback.

The course covered responsibility, workplace equipment, site set ups, signage, near misses, incidents and injury types.

The group were also given exercises on site which were focused around hazards and they were joined for lunch by Don Coates, Chief Executive Officer and Steve Clasby, Chief Operating Officer.

The feedback received after the event was extremely positive, with representatives stating that it was both enjoyable and a good opportunity to meet other staff and managers and understand safety across the business, not just in their own working environment.

Heather McLintock commented: “The safety reps are all volunteers and their role is much appreciated and vital to continue to promote safety within our sites.  The day was a good opportunity for them to meet each other and discuss safety issues and solutions that may be similar throughout the group.”