Roofers Top Of The Class
Illawarra Mercury
Tuesday October 2, 2001
Spackman and Kentwell Roofing at Port Kembla has been recognised by OneSteel after replacing the roofs of two Tubemakers Metaland distribution warehouses on Five Islands Rd.
Director Richard Kentwell said the company won a OneSteel National Safety Award for a supplier/sub-contractor for completing the job without a single injury or lost injury time while averaging six to eight people on site each day.
``They kept trading while we were working which was a big bonus to them," Mr Kentwell said.
``The same job we did here in about four months, down in Melbourne took 13."
The Port Kembla contract, valued at almost $1million, involved a roof area of 1000sqm.
At the height of the project, the re-sheeting phase earlier this year, up to a dozen people were working on the roof at any one time.
Spackman and Kentwell has operated as a roofing company in Wollongong for more than three decades and employs about 22 personnel.
No job was too big or too small, according to Mr Kentwell.
``We have done work from Mrs Brown's back extension to the Wollongong Entertainment Centre," he said.
Mr Kentwell said the company had always actively worked at improving job safety.
``We have always tried to be safe right through because we are the leading roofing company in Wollongong," he said.
``I think 90 per cent of roofers in Wollongong have all been through this company at one time or another.
``We have always basically tried to be a bit of a leader in the field."
The latest push by WorkCover was an added incentive, according to Mr Kentwell.
But, he said, it wouldn't have been possible to win the award without the cooperation of Tubemakers Metaland.
``It was a real team effort," he said.
``I actually wrote the induction and all the work method statements and the job safety analysis and they all worked out well.
``I think they spent something like six weeks writing contingencies in case something cropped up after what happened in Melbourne."
Part of the prize was a $2000 donation to a charity of the winner's choice and Spackman and Kentwell decided to give the money to the Sydney Children Hospital's chest clinic.
``Both my children suffer from asthma and we donated the prize to the foundation for research into asthma in children and cystic fibrosis," Mr Kentwell said.
Tubemakers Metaland nominated Spackman and Kentwell Roofing for the award.
Tubemakers Metaland manager John Wenham said both buildings were 200m long and 17m wide.
He said the job was significant because OneSteel was very safety conscious.
``One of the buildings had asbestos on it so we had to look for a good contractor," Mr Wenham said.
``The asbestos had to be disposed of in the proper manner and we were keen to get through this project without any instances, whether they be safety or environmental, and we did that.
``We thought that was a great achievement. There was very little disruption to our business. We had thought there may have been more but the teams worked together and it was good."
Spackman and Kentwell Roofing's commitment to safety started at the tender process where all insurances, quality assurance accreditation, WorkCover approvals and registration were all automatically forthcoming and current.
The company had its own Job Safety Analysis (JSA) work methods for each task ready at tender stage which allowed Metaland staff to have informed conversations about the SJAs prior to project commencement.
Spackman and Kentwell was also recognised for having extensive risk assessment knowledge with detailed safety induction packages, which are adapted for each project.
© 2001 Illawarra Mercury
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