The Canal & River Trust’s national engineering team spent a day at Aqueduct Marina in Cheshire to undergo their annual health and safety update. The event provides attendees with an opportunity to not only get hands-on with a wide range of equipment but also to learn the latest H&S information. Aqueduct Marina was chosen in part due to its long association with the Trust and the marina’s ongoing work to produce the new generation of workboats.
Over the past few years, the engineering team at Aqueduct has worked closely with the Trust’s engineers to develop a new concept workboat that is highly portable and, due to a new kit construction method, can also be built quickly and economically.
The day included an introduction from the Trust’s chief infrastructure & programmes officer Malcolm Horne, followed by sessions covering lessons learnt from recent accidents; a tour of the marina workshops where Aqueduct are building new boats for the Trust; a practical exercise to safely build a scaffold tower; and videos showing the impact of injuries on colleagues and their families.
The event also saw exhibits and demonstrations by a number of businesses involved in the construction industry. The Trust’s regional construction manager Andy Morris highlighted that, in many cases, staff don’t get an opportunity to see or try out new equipment being developed for the construction sector. So, events like this are an ideal opportunity for staff to get hands-on.
Robert Parton, MD of Aqueduct Marina, said, “We were delighted to host the Canal & River Trust’s H&S day here at Aqueduct Marina; it was interesting to see and try a wide range of equipment available for almost every situation.”
Dean Davies, head of direct services at Canal & River Trust, said: “It certainly was one of the best safety events the Trust has done – plus the weather was fantastic! Aqueduct Marina were amazing and generous hosts: nothing was too much trouble for them both before and on the day. I also want to thank all our supply partners who gave up their time and equipment to make this event the success it was. We had lots of positive feedback from colleagues, and from many of our suppliers saying it was the best event they’ve attended.”