In October, Stewart Construction earned a distinction at the annual NISO/NISG All-Ireland Occupational Safety Awards. Building Ireland caught up with the company’s Environmental Health & Safety Manager, Kieran Doyle to hear more about the honour.
2018 marked another busy and successful year for Stewart Construction and the plan for the New Year ahead will undoubtedly be for this family-run firm to keep growing by continuing to see out projects that are top of the line nationwide.
Kieran Doyle has been with the company a decade now as its Environmental Health & Safety Manager. The role sees him as the main driving force within Stewart Construction to implement environmental best practice policy, in meeting its contractual requirements and also to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992, the Waste Management Acts 1996 and 2001 and the Regulations made under these Acts, thereby complying with EU requirements.
Established in 1902 in Salthill, Galway, Stewart Construction have grown from a regional company to become one of the leaders in the Irish construction industry. The Stewart family continue to own and manage the business, with the Chairman Seán Stewart, a grandson of the founder, being assisted by an expert and dynamic management team, which includes his son Paul, Managing Director and daughter Rachael, Business Development Director.
Kieran himself is proud to say he has been part of the team at Stewart Construction for 10 years now and took some time from his increasingly hectic schedule to outline to Building Ireland what they’re all about.
“The company has bases in both Dublin and Galway but I work out of Athlone and previously did a lot of work in London,” Kieran outlined.
“I’d been working on a lot of big projects over in the UK before moving back 13 years ago so, altogether, I’m working in Health & Safety 22 years now.”
That experience counts for a lot and shone through on October 12, 2018 when the company’s safety team picked up the award for distinction at the 27th Annual All Ireland Occupational Safety Awards, which were hosted by the NISO Southern Region in the Great Southern Hotel in Killarney.
As Stewart Construction’s EHS Manager, Kieran was presented the award by Minister of State Pat Breen, along with NISO representatives on the night at the Co Kerry venue.
“This was our second year to enter the awards and in 2017 we won two awards,” he explained.
Speaking about the night at the 27th Occupational Safety Awards, he described the success as being an honour and pointed out that the awards won by Stewart Construction over the past few years in particular have been a testament to the company’s growth.
“It’s a big thing to be honoured with. Winning something like this re-emphasizes Stewart Construction’s commitment to Health & Safety.
“When I first started working for Stewart Construction they had 20 staff and now there are 126 working here. I think that tells its own story.
“We’re also members of NISO as well and it’s recognition of what we’re doing here.”
The drive for excellence in Environmental Health & Safety at Stewart Construction runs from the top all the way through the company, according to Kieran.
Managing Director Paul Stewart, whose great grandfather (James) founded the company back in 1902, echoes its safety policy in believing that prime importance of people and their health and therefore optimum health and safety performance is paramount.
“It’s a big deal for any company regardless of the awards. The awards are for all sectors – not just construction, so that tells you the standard I suppose,” said Kieran.
“Paul Stewart really pushes Health & Safety and he always backs the safety team. When Paul rings me, he wants to improve something and I’ve always done my best to make sure and try and do so.
“I’ve always felt that communication is key to Health & Safety and when workers leave a Stewart Construction site they’ll leave it remembering the safety of the site. That’s something else we aim for.”
Stewart Construction is proven on more than 300 projects nationwide and assures clients that they will exceed their expectations time and time again.
They are acknowledged as leaders in Design and Build. They have considerable experience in the commercial office sector and have developed an expertise in large scale and pharma projects. Currently opportunities in residential including student accommodation are being developed as are data centre opportunities and opportunities for sustainable construction innovation.
The continued successful delivery to the Stewart client base, both ‘new and old’, encourages highly valued repeat business, and encourages the collaborative translation of evolving client needs into high end quality delivery.
The family-owned venture with such rich tradition sees it possess a longstanding and proven track record of successful project delivery, built up over the last century, via their award winning teams, is based on employing the most technically advanced building techniques. Technical innovation is a vital part of the company’s success story. They were among the leaders to embrace Building Information Modeling (BIM). They have used their technical prowess to expand the quality of service they offer their clients.
Clients of Stewart Construction have given glowing testimonials (which can be read on the company’s website www.stewart.ie), further substantiated by their desire to re-engage with repeat business confirms their ability to deliver to the highest standards, within budget.
Stewart Construction
Orchard House,
Beaumont Ave,
Churchtown,
Dublin 14. D14 W3P8
Tel: +353 1 901 1290
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, January 2019, Vol 5 No 1
