Matt Pullen, Managing Director of British Gypsum, shares how they put in place safer working practices to help get their business back up and running following the disruption caused by Coronavirus. Find out how you can work safely here.
Video Transcript
Hi, I’m Matt Pullen, MD of British Gypsum. We mine, mill and make Gypsum-based plasterboard and plaster in multiple locations across the UK, that are used to create the walls and ceilings in the buildings that we all live, work and play in.
In line with government request to halt the spread of Coronavirus, we temporarily ceased most of our operations at the end of March. Demand for our products obviously reduced too. From individual tradespeople working in private homes to house building and commercial building sites.
So we were appreciative of the government support through the furlough job retention scheme to help protect our business and many others.
We still supplied products during this time to many of our NHS Nightingale and other essential NHS projects.
To do this, we quickly devised, tested and put in place new rigorous hygiene and social distancing measures, as part of our own revised safe site operating procedures.
These incorporated both the government and Public Health England’s advice and include one-way systems for people in our plants, enhanced sanitation and hygiene routines, and increased workplace cleaning regimes.
Now as individual tradespeople and building site teams are being encouraged to return to work, where it’s safe to do so, we are bringing back more of our colleagues and ramping up our manufacturing to support construction and indeed the UK economy.
Every single team member is being re- inducted to learn and feel confident in the new normal way of working. Safety always has been and always will be our number one priority.
Our colleagues are confident in returning to the workplace, where our new procedures will help limit the spread of Covid-19.
And want to play their part in protecting their colleagues and our customer’s livelihoods. We followed government and Public Health England guidance and been methodical and vigorous in our approach.
You can too, to support manufacturing, construction and our economy.
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