Training

The health and safety of our team, clients and the public are paramount to us. We put measures in place to protect everyone and training our staff is a key measure.

The most important training the whole team take part in is a 1 day First Aid at Work + Catastrophic Bleeding every year in January as a refresh for the upcoming year. This, the defibrillators and first aid kits on every site ensures that should the worst happen, the whole VDBH team are ready and prepared to offer appropriate first aid. Of course the goal is that no first aid is required in the first place, therefore, all our team has a qualification in Health and Safety in the Workplace at either Level 1, 2 or 3. This guarantees our sites comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and are as safe as they can be to work on and visit. Site Supervising Landscapers, Landscapers and our Contract Liaison Manager have all completed the Site Supervisor Safety Training Scheme (SSSTS).

All VDBH staff are trained in the theory and practice of safe manual handling as the lifting of materials and equipment common on our sites. However, we will use equipment to help with lifting as much as possible.

Using machinery and electrical/battery powered and handheld tools is a huge part of working on one of our project sites. No staff member is allowed to use a piece of equipment or machinery they are not trained to use; this could be in house training by a senior site worker, online training or a theory and practical based course such as the NPORS tickets and chainsaw. We have an in house pat tester so our electrical equipment is routinely checked for faults - on top of our staff checking before each use.

Before a new VDBH team member has their first day on a site, they complete a detailed induction day where they complete a number of courses. This includes: fire safety, asbestos awareness, noise at work, hand-arm vibration etc. They are sent to site with a red folder which has a number of important tasks to complete and have signed off under the supervision of a senior site worker (usually the Site Supervising Landscaper) such as: using the equipment and machinery with the correct PPE and correct techniques and the meaning of the safety signs positioned around site.

The health of our staff is very important to us at VDBHLDC, this includes both physical health and mental health. Managers and Site Supervising Landscapers have all completed a mental health awareness/first aid course to ensure our staff are supported during work.

We continually introduce new training material to keep everyone safe.