Dublin based Ashview Consultants are a market leader in health and safety practice and their reputation has been enhanced even further following their achievement of obtaining the coveted All-Star Construction Health & Safety Consultancy 2021 Accreditation.
The award which is now held by over 450 firms, is needed by the thousands of small and medium businesses which operate to their own standards but have nothing to measure them by.
The All-Ireland Business Foundation identifies, acknowledges and supports the country’s most ambitious, innovative and visionary business leaders.
While Foundation members are drawn from across the business spectrum, they share common challenges. In response, the Foundation enables them to learn from, and work with, each other whilst receiving independent and objective assessments of their achievements and leadership.
The All-Ireland Business Foundation is responsible for overseeing the All-Ireland Business Summit and All-Star awards, ongoing All-Star accreditation, Thought Leader awards and promoting peer dialogue among members.
Ashview Consultants Managing Director Paul O’Shea told Building Ireland: “We are very proud to have achieved this Accreditation as recognition of our team’s achievements over the past 15 years, the level of expertise we offer and the systematic internal processes we have implemented to guarantee unrivalled customer service to our clients.”
Paul revealed that they had been interested in awards in the past, but when the All-Star accreditation came along, they saw that it would be very beneficial to their work.
“We had been shortlisted for a number of awards down through the years, and we got to the stage that we felt they were of no benefit to us. However, when we looked into the All-Ireland Business Foundation, we felt that it would be a great addition for us.
“Our background, trustworthiness and performance are all evaluated, while they speak to customers, employees and vendors. It is a rigorous submission with three lots of interviews and we were delighted to come through it and achieve the accreditation.”
Ashview Consultants had successfully navigated three rounds of auditing which proved their performance, trust and customer-centricity.
The auditing process left the judges in no doubt as to the company’s suitability for Business All-Star accreditation and their inclusion in The Register of Irish Business Excellence (TRIBE).
Ashview Consultants also have a third party accreditation, having ISO 9001 & OHSAS 18001, while the 14001 is also about to be added.
The Wicklow native admitted that the only disappointing aspect about receiving the accreditation was that the presentation usually takes place in Croke Park and being involved in the GAA, it would mean a lot to Paul to walk up the steps of Croke Park, but because of the pandemic, the function didn’t go ahead.
“Yeah of course, it would have been great to get a day out in Croke Park, there are not too many Wicklow men that have climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand, so it would have been nice to do that.
“But, like I said, it was great to be accredited. I’m learning more about the organisation and the support services that they have are excellent. It was good for our profile to be an award-winning company.”
Ashview Consultants have four offices in Dublin, Limerick, Newry and their newest base in London which sees them carry out work both here and the U.K.
“We provide advice to a wide range of industries across a diverse range of clients and employers both in Ireland and the UK. Over the last few years, we have developed the business by providing expert safety advice to our clients to ensure that their interest is protected during their activities or projects.
“We can ensure that from the initial concept of a project, through design, construction and future maintenance that our team has vast experience and comprehensive knowledge of what is expected and will deliver on a project.
“We feel that we can bring our young, energetic and enthusiastic team to look at any project and ensure that clients’ interests are protected and maintained for the duration of any project.”
While there can be a feeling by some that safety companies are problem makers instead of problem solvers, Paul reacts quickly to stress that they are the latter.
“I think that is what gives us the edge over our competitors, we will always come up with a solution. All the team here have a background in construction, and this means that we know where the client is coming from and we won’t sit on the fence, but we will solve the issue. This means closely working with the client through design with management and pre-construction auditing.”
Paul admits that there is a great deal of focus put on the staff who are allowed to express their skills through their work and encouraged to come up with their own ideas and solutions.
“Our staff are everything to us and part of the reason we went for the All-Star awards was to be recognised for the work that they have done over the years. We place a massive emphasis on training & development and ensuring that all our employees reach their maximum potential. We have a graduate and career progression program set up within the company, which allows everyone to grow within the business.”
One major change that the company has adopted due to the pandemic is remote working or working from home where the employees carry out their duties from home, with a work station set up in all staff members homes.
“We had flexi-Friday in the past where employees could build up enough hours during the week to work from home on a Friday. Between August and December last year, we did a trial where on alternative weeks, 50% of the staff would work from home on a Friday and that proved to be a big success. There was a positive reaction to that and it is something we will carry on for the foreseeable future.
Ashview Consultants pushes for equality and the staff is divided equally between male and female employees, while there is no gender pay gap.
The company has been involved in projects ranging from €30,000 to €600 million which sees them cover a wide range of sectors including retail, residential, student accommodation, civics, data centres and fit outs. Some of their clients include Subway, KFC, Costa, Amazon and Microsoft to name just a few.
Paul is also mindful of those less fortunate than ourselves and the company has been linked to a number of charity organisations where they raise funds to help out.
“We are involved in 4 charities annually, these are spread across a number of areas, foodbanks, homeless, woman refuse and single parents organisation. In December we had a clothes collection for the homeless where people brought in unwanted clothes in particular jackets and we brought in a huge amount, while we also raised €1,000. We would also help out the women’s refuge and food banks. We feel we are in a position to help and it is important to do so.”
Not one to rest on his laurels, Paul is looking at the next phase of growing the business with the enhancement of their digital platform very much to the forefront of their aim.
All in all he is pleased with the direction that the business is going, but he stressed that he is not one to sit back and wallow in his success.
“I wouldn’t be one for sitting down and looking back at what we have achieved over the years. I started off as a one-man show working from a room in the house. I had spent a good few years in Australia after I finished college and when I came home I set up the business and it has grown ever since, but I don’t look back, just forward and I’m always looking at ways of improving.”
Contact Details:
Ashview Consultants
Basement Level,
115 Baggot Street Lower,
Dublin,
D02 FN88
Phone: (01) 619 0247
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, May, Vol 7 No 5
