Nottingham-based Joseph Merritt Group (www.merritts.uk.com) has achieved Safecontractor accreditation for its commitment to health-and-safety excellence.

Employing 45 people and with an annual turnover of £5 million, the group is principally involved in the machinery removal, heavy lifting and specialist transport sector. Recent clients include the Engineering Technologies Group, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Cobham.

The company’s application for this accreditation was driven by the need for a uniform standard across the business.

Marketing manager Darren Hardy said: “We want our customers to be confident that every contract will be carried out to the correct health-and-safety guidelines and regulations. We ensure that the correct systems are in place to recognise the risk of accidents to all persons concerned, and we implement the appropriate measures to provide the safest possible working environment.”

John Kinge, technical director of Safecontractor, said: “Major organisations cannot afford to run the risk of employ-
ing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound health-and-safety policies in place. More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that Merritt has done.”

Under the Safecontractor third-party accreditation scheme, businesses undergo a vetting process that examines their health-and-safety procedures and their record for safe practice.