Regular winners at the NISO awards, Keating Construction was to the fore again in 2019 when the judges bestowed the Highly Commended honour upon the County Clare headquartered, industry-leading operation. Another notable achievement for a company which is constantly evolving, adapting to meet and exceed customer expectations, investing in people, skills, technology and innovation to deliver ever-safer, high-quality engineering solutions.
The 28th National Irish Safety Organisation / Northern Ireland Safety Group (NISO / NISG) Annual Safety Awards took place on Friday, October 11th, 2019 at a special ceremony at The Galmont Hotel in Galway, where over 100 organisations from around the island of Ireland were presented with awards.
Keating Construction, formerly L&M Keating, was one of 20 esteemed contractors to pick up a prestigious ‘Highly Commended’ accolade, continuing their proud tradition of excelling at this highly-regarded annual safety awards ceremony.
The NISO /NISG Awards are greatly valued and regarded among health and safety professionals throughout Ireland, north and south. The awards, which demonstrate the positive and proactive culture of safety management in organisations, were supported this year by the Health and Safety Authority, Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland, Healthy Ireland and Irving Oil Whitegate Refinery.
On hand to present the awards to a who’s who of companies from the construction industry were Sharon McGuinness, CEO Health and Safety Authority; Harry Galvin, NISO President; and John Thompson, NISG chairman. Making it a night to remember and one where safety in the workplace was very much to the fore, the awards ceremony itself was preceded by the 56th annual NISO Health and Safety conference.
In many ways, it was business as usual for Keating to collect the Higher Distinction award as it was their third year running to be recognised. Still operating under their original moniker at the time, L&M Keating were also awarded the 2018 National Irish Safety Organisation’s Distinction award at The Great Southern Hotel in Kerry for their Health & Safety performance. They were also recognised in 2012, 2013 and 2017.
The NISO Awards are held each year to recognise how organisations manage Health & Safety at work and highlights those companies who prove that they possess a clear and proactively structured occupational health programme for their employees. The Higher Distinction awards are presented to companies who have demonstrated a higher standard of safety commitment, achieving a mark of over 70 per cent.
As a people-centred organisation that places a major emphasis on its personnel, insisting that the highest standards of safety are maintained at all times, the third-successive NISO Higher Distinction award demonstrates Keating’s commitment to a positive and proactive culture of safety management within the organisation. Regularly receiving market recognition for their Health & Safety policies represents a real fillip for Keating.
The company is a long-time supporter of the NISO Awards, as this testimonial given in 2017 when they received their first of three consecutive Higher Distinction Awards, attests: “Keating recognise Health & Safety as an integral part our business process. Receiving this NISO / NISG safety award reflects and confirms Keating’s continued commitment to the highest standard of health and safety but also recognises the collective culture adopted by our all staff and contractors.”
Indeed, you don’t have to look any further than the company’s Mission Statement for confirmation of this commitment: “Through tailored training programmes run both externally and internally we ensure all staff are kept up to date with Health & Safety legislation and best practice. Collaboration also ensures management can share ideas and discuss site Health & Safety issues. All management staff are certified by IOSH for managing safely in construction”.
People form the heart of all operations at Keating and they are proud to facilitate a positive, industry-redefining environment that is based on equality, diversity and inclusion. Keating is currently under the leadership of recently-appointed CEO Gordon O’Regan, who is overseeing the strategic growth and development of the firm to ensure a successful and sustainable business for many more years to come.
Headquartered in Clare and with regional offices in Dublin and Cork, Keating is a multidisciplinary marine, civil engineering and building firm of renowned expertise. It was founded over 30 years ago and in that time has developed a reputation as a leading multidisciplinary contractor in engineering, delivering significant infrastructure projects across Ireland and the UK.
They pride themselves on their delivery of world-class solutions, and their dedicated and highly-skilled employees have carried out a diverse range of projects across government departments, local authorities, multinational organisations and private clients.
Coinciding with the company rebrand as Keating and marking an exciting investment phase, its new Dublin office was opened at Park West Business Park in April, 2019. However, in recognition of their proud history, the decision was taken to maintain the company HQ in County Clare.
Because of their technical and niche marine engineering expertise, Keating have been attracting more projects from markets outside of Ireland, particularly across the UK. Their recently-opened Dublin office allows them to engage more easily with international clients.
Keating have an affinity for the deliverance of transformational marine engineering solutions, with a large repertoire of complex projects completed including the construction of piers, ferry terminals, shipping ports, storm gates and more. Their highly-skilled employees have performed an extensive range of restorative projects, redevelopments, new constructions and dredging activities, using the most cutting edge and efficient construction plant and special equipment to bring their innovative designs to reality.
Meanwhile, with an award-winning portfolio of past civil engineering projects under their belt, Keating’s team of engineers are leaders in innovative design and execution. They place a constant focus on ensuring that the finished result reaches and exceeds client expectations, readily adapting to new technological advancements whilst using their creative vision to accomplish civil engineering projects across wind farms, pedestrian bridges, dam improvements, fuel farms and drainage schemes.
Over the past 30 years, the company – established in Mullagh, County Clare in 1987 – has built a reputation as one of Ireland’s leading engineering contractors. Having won their first significant marine project in 1998, they formed a joint venture with Roadbridge, completing €120m of new construction work in Dublin Port. In recent times, Keating have expanded their portfolio to include complex and difficult projects in civil engineering, building, marine and heritage.
The company was acquired by CBD Capital in 2018 with Gordon O’Regan appointed as CEO that same year. Furthermore, offices were opened and a team established in the UK.
As Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business and EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection Pat Breen commented at the opening of Keatings’ Dublin office in 2019: “It is very heartening and exciting to see a company from Clare competing and winning on national and global stages. Keating is a fantastic example of how this can be achieved and highlights the benefits to both the locality and companies themselves.”
With a new management team in place and the company relaunched, Keating is preparing itself to pass the €100m turnover milestone moving into overseas markets into the 2020s. As well as being an award-winning member of the National Irish Safety Organisation, Keating is also accredited to Engineers Ireland CPD Accreditation, Heritage Contractors, Civil Engineers Contractors Association, NSAI, Safe-T-Cert, Construction Industry Federation and Construction Industry Federation Ireland standards.
Keating,
Kilmihil,
County Clare,
V15 HC84.
Tel: 065 905 0090
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.keatingconstruction.ie
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, April 2020, Vol 6 No 2
