The drive to improve safety

• The drive to improve safety

  Fletcher Building recognises outstanding health and safety initiatives and successes across its business at an annual awards event. In 2009 the "Site Award for Most Effective Site and Safety Initiative" was awarded to Firth Industries for the "G" Force Sensors fitted in 2008 to the GPS Status Automator units in Firth's trucks. The sensor detects when the force on the truck exceeds set thresholds and the driver is alerted by a speaker of: - "Harsh braking"; or - "Tilt detected"; or - "Overspeed" (if exceeding 95 kph).

  The overall trend since installing the system nationwide has been a 90% drop in warnings per delivery since December 2008. Firth is leading the way in managing safer driving on the road.

  STOP PRESS As we go to press, Firth's drive to improve safety has received further recognition, now on an international scale. Firth's video "A Day in the Life of Firth" has received the highest honour, a Silver Telly, in the Health & Safety category of the 31st Annual Telly Awards held in New York. With over 11,000 videos entered into this prestigious festival from around the world every year, the Telly award is highly sought after. The winning video is part of Firth's ongoing campaign to improve Health & Safety awareness and performance across the business.

• Preserve life and minimise damage

  It is imperative that buildings and structures are created to protect people and property from threats - including fire. Legislation and design codes exist for this reason and are updated to reflect international research and development in concrete's fire safety. As a non-combustible material, concrete and concrete masonry rarely require additional fire protection and during a fire event will not add to the fire load or produce harmful emissions.

  Concrete's slow rate of heat transfer prevents fire spread within structures while providing protection to evacuees and fire fighters. Following a fire a concrete structure generally remains intact, allowing for relatively quick repair and reoccupation, saving time and money. This range of properties ensures concrete provides an impressive level of fire resistance that ultimately assists in preserving life and minimising damage.

  For more on the fire performance of concrete visit: www.cca.org.nz/fire