 Astutis has built up a strong relationship with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) over the years, working closely in providing many successful consultancy projects. The latest was to carry out Health and Safety Risk Assessments on their cemeteries and memorials across Egypt, Morocco and Lebanon.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an International organisation that spans over 153 countries to honour the 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died during the First and Second World War. They have built and now they maintain cemeteries and memorials of those that had fallen.
The Risk Assessments carried out ensured that visitors who accessed the cemeteries and memorials to pay their respects could do so in a safe environment. The assessments were carried out by International best practise standards which highlight any hazards such as poor signage, trip hazards and height issues which could potentially affect their visit to the grounds.
Astutis’ health and safety consultant Mohamed Ezz has been undertaking all the work across the sites including Abbasiya Indian Cemetery and Port Said Muhammadan Civil Cemetery in Egypt, Tangier (St Andrew) Churchyard and Ben M'Sik European Cemetery in Morocco, Beirut Anglo – American both Cemetery & Memorial, Beirut War Cemetery, Sidon War Cemetery and Tripoli (Victoria) Naval Cemetery in Lebanon. On his completion of the risk assessment report, Mohamed provided his recommendations and has requested that any urgent actions be carried out straight away.
We asked Claudia Scimonelli, Health and Safety Co-ordinator at CWGC about the consultancy work Astusis carried out;
- What is your company’s approach to health and safety?
Health and Safety is an important part of our daily work, we tend to look for a total integration of H&S in every aspect of our organisation.
- How did the consultancy fit into your health and safety plans?
Knowing our legal obligation in countries where we operate and understanding if our management system fulfils them is very important. Astutis helped us to analyse legal requirements for North Africa countries.
- Did you have any specific objectives you wanted to achieve with the consultancy?
A legal register for Egypt, Morocco and Lebanon and a specific Visitors Risk Assessment for the countries mentioned above.
- How has the consultancy impacted on your company? Were there any particular issues that needed solving?
With the work provided by Astutis, we were able to carry out an analysis of what needs to be implemented in various countries to comply with their laws. Fortunately, the management system we have adopted is based on the UK legislation and covers most of what is required elsewhere.
With the visitors Risk Assessments we’ve had the possibility to implement preventive and protective measures based on visitors’ presence in our sites.
Claudia Scimonelli said “Together with Astutis we built a great working relationship, both with the consultant on site and the administrative team. CWGC has its own rules and procedures which were immediately understood and taken on board. I rely on Astutis advice and I know that if something is not clear I can get back to them and obtain further help.”
For more information on Health and Safety Consultancy Astutis can provide, please get in touch with Alastair Park, Head of the Astutis Middle East, Email: alastair.park@astutis.com or Tel: +971 (0) 4277 8366. |
