Health and safety chief Andrew achieves chartered status

Andrew MacCuish, Head of Health, Safety, Quality and Environment at Lanes Group plc’s Utilities Division, has become a Chartered Member of the Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (IOSH).
He had to prove a high standard of continual professional development, then complete an open book assessment and give a peer-reviewed presentation to qualify for Chartered Member status.
Andrew said: “Within Lanes Group’s utilities services we are always seeking to enhance our skills and knowledge, so I was very pleased to achieve IOSH chartered status within my profession.
“Excellence in occupational health and safety is at the centre of everything we do, so this will give our stakeholders, most notably Thames Water, increased confidence that our vision is being backed by action.”
Andrew joined Lanes Group Utilities Division, which is Thames Water’s wastewater network services maintenance partner, in December 2015. He had previous worked on the manufacturing and groundworks sectors.
Conrad Ashby, Lanes Group’s Thames Water Framework Director, said: “I am delighted at Andrew’s achievement. He has repeatedly demonstrated his professionalism and diligence in the realm of occupational health and safety.
“Becoming a Chartered Member reflects his determination to continually challenge and improve himself, which at Lanes Group we admire and are pleased to benefit from.
“Our occupational health and safety strategy is aligned with Thames Water’s Three Zeros approach – Zero Incidents, Zero Harm, Zero Compromise – which also places significant priority on professional learning and development.”
Earlier this year Conrad Ashby, himself, achieved a NEBOSH General Certificate in occupational health and safety with distinction, and was praised by the British Safety Council for showing leadership in safety skills development.
As part of a programme of professional development to support Lanes’ ‘Serious about Safety’ cultural campaign, 70 utilities managers and supervisors have been put through the IOSH Managing Safely course.
Key operational managers are also being sponsored by Conrad Ashby to take the NEBOSH General Certificate to continually improve the safe standards within its service delivery.
The Lanes Thames Water maintenance operation responds to 1,000 drain and sewer unblocking and repair jobs every day, and operates a fleet of more than 400 specialist drainage vehicles.
Lanes Group was awarded a RoSPA Gold Medal in 2016, after achieving the RoSPA Gold Award for the seventh year in a row.