EcoOnline > Case Studies > United Living: Enhancing Safety Culture through IoT

United Living: Enhancing Safety Culture through IoT

Technology Category

Cybersecurity & Privacy - Identity & Authentication Management
Sensors - Level Sensors

Applicable Industries

Buildings
Cement

Use Cases

Construction Management
Onsite Human Safety Management

Services

System Integration

About The Customer

United Living Group is a UK-based company that operates in the infrastructure, new homes, and property services sectors. The company consists of three complementary businesses: United Living Property Services, Infrastructure Services, and New Homes. United Living employs over 1,100 people and has a national supply chain network of over 2,000 resources supporting their projects. The company is committed to bringing together people and technology to make the industry safer and more collaborative. United Living has a turnover of £550 million and a direct workforce of around 2,000 employees.

The Challenge

United Living, a UK-based infrastructure, new homes, and property services group, was facing a significant challenge in managing health and safety risks across its operations. The company, which employs over 1,100 people and has a supply chain network of over 2,000 resources, was receiving a mere 250 'close call' reports per month. These reports, which are used to identify potential hazards and risks, were not sufficient for a company of United Living's size and scope. The company's Group Safety, Health, Environment, and Quality (SHEQ) Director, Sean Luchmun, recognized the need for a significant increase in these reports to better manage risks and improve safety across the company's operations. The challenge was to change the company's culture to encourage employees to report close calls and to implement a system that would make reporting easier and more efficient.

The Solution

United Living launched a cultural change program to encourage employees to report close calls. The program used the slogan 'Don't walk by' to encourage employees to act positively when they saw hazardous behavior or conditions. The company also implemented EcoOnline's Quick Report system across all its divisions to make reporting easier and more efficient. The Quick Report system allows site managers and project managers to file reports via their laptops, while site operatives can use mobile phones or submit paper slips. The company also plans to extend the system to its subcontractors, who can make up 90% of the workforce on sites where the company is the principal contractor. The Quick Report system offers the facility to allow guests access to the system by scanning a QR code with their phones. This extension could potentially increase the number of reports fourfold.

Operational Impact

The implementation of the cultural change program and the Quick Report system has led to significant improvements in United Living's safety culture. The company has shifted from a reactive approach to a proactive one, focusing on preventing incidents rather than just responding to them. Employees now feel more empowered to identify and fix hazards, leading to safer projects. The changes made as a result of reports are communicated back to employees, fostering a sense of ownership and involvement in the safety process. The Quick Reports also provide valuable data that allows the company to target its interventions more effectively. The success of the program has given the board confidence to invest more energy and effort into the SHEQ agenda, further enhancing the company's safety culture.

Quantitative Benefit

The number of close-call notifications has risen from 250 a month to 2,500 in less than a year.
The group’s rate of reportable accidents under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations has more than halved.
The all-injury rate has also more than halved.