At GRM we are proud of our on-going staff training program, which benefits not only our clients but also the career development of individual team members. We use a combination of in-house experts who are always keen to share their knowledge and experiences with other team members, and external providers where specialist training is required.
One recent example related to the identification and site management of unexploded ordnance (often referred to as UXO). Not only does UXO present a significant health and safety risk at both site investigation and development stages, but they can also cause significant delays and additional costs where unexpectedly encountered later in the construction programme.
GRM work with UXO specialists for on-site support including toolbox talks and magnetometer surveys for detection and clearance in boreholes and where piled foundations are planned. 1st Line Defence is one of the specialist companies we work with, and Phil Baptie recently came to our head office in Burton to provide additional awareness training and guidance. He also brought in some examples of UXO that may be encountered by our teams, as well as giving us some case studies of UXO finds in the UK and abroad.
Other areas where GRM staff have recently received training updates include:
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER), with training provided by our own specialist internal team (theory and practical in the car park on a very cold January day, with the promise of pizza as bait to the participants!).
- RAMS Discussion and Risk Assessment Training.
- Managing and Working with Asbestos Risk in Ground Investigation (MARGI) and non-licensed work with asbestos (NLW). Some elements provided by Equipe Training.
- Qualitative face fit testing on respiratory protective equipment (RPE) which is used where hazardous materials such as asbestos might be present. Thanks to KestrelQAS for delivering this training.
- Abrasive wheels training which involves slicing and dicing various objects with a high-performance circular saw! Special thanks to Burton Training Solutions for their expert guidance during recent sessions.
- Buried service awareness training using a Cable Avoidance Tool (CAT) and genny (including our new gCAT4+ models which all have depth reading and strike alert features when used with the genny).
- Key exploratory practices and techniques including California Bearing Ratio (CBR) testing, Plate Load Testing and Nuclear Density Testing. Thanks to Kiwa CMT for delivering this.
If you have any development or construction projects, then please get in touch to find out how we can help save both time and costs. Please use your main point of contact at GRM or for new enquiries email richard.upton@grm-uk.com or call 01283 551249.