They are well used to winning All-Ireland titles in Kerry, but this time we are not talking football as Castleisland based Griffin Brothers Contracting Ltd were honoured with the President’s Award for the best national medium sized company at the 2020 National Irish Safety Organisation All-Ireland Occupational Safety Awards held in January.
For the previous two years, the company had been winners at the prestigious All Ireland Occupational Safety Awards which are renowned for recognising excellence within the health and safety industry, and with the goal of improving occupational safety and health within the Irish workplace.
However, to win the President’s award is the pinnacle for any business in the industry and for this month’s edition of Building Ireland, we profile the company and speak to the Health & Safety Manager Tomás Foley about receiving such a prestigious award and the work they are doing in regards to health and safety.
Indeed, Health & Safety has never been more paramount as it has been for the past 12 months as Covid-19 has opened up a whole new section to deal with in what is already an area that needs a great deal of attention. For Griffin Brothers Contracting Ltd, health and safety has always played an important role and receipt of the award is an acknowledgement of the hard work that they have put in down through the years.
“When it comes to health and safety, the company puts it at the forefront of every project that we do. There is huge investment placed in both the employees, sub-contractors and the systems we use to ensure that everyone is trained to the highest possible standard,” said Tomás.
So, what did winning the award mean for the company? “Everyone was delighted. It is great to be recognised on a national basis. It is the culmination of the hard work by everyone involved in the company. Griffin Brothers are fully committed to the operation of its head office and sites to the highest health, safety, quality and environmental standards.”
Tomás stressed that they were not about to rest on their laurels now that they had been presented with the award and the aim now was to try and improve on what they have achieved.
“The company is growing all the time, so from a health and safety perspective, it is essential to maintain and improve in that area where we can. We have to continuously look at this and if there are any areas where we can improve, then we will do so. In-house training is carried out all the time as it is important for all the employees and management to stay up to date with the many changes in legislation.”
In his role, Tomás has been dealing with the impact that Covid-19 has had on the company and the industry in general.
“The pandemic has been extremely challenging. In fairness, the CIF standard operating procedures manual distributed to companies really helped and we have everything in place to ensure our sites and head office are Covid compliant. We have installed hand sanitisers, introduced one-way systems on site as well as in head office, toolbox talk meetings are being held outdoors, while temperature testing would also be carried out depending on the project.”
Established by Monty Griffin in 1973, Griffin Brothers is a family-run firm which has completed a number of prestigious projects across a wide range of sectors including commercial, industrial, residential, hospitality, leisure, civils, demolitions, restoration, educational, health and bespoke private luxury homes.
Griffin Brothers believe that strong teamwork between clients and designers is key to the safe and successful delivery of every project to the highest standard, on time, to specification and within budget. Practical experience, technical ability, motivated management and supervisory teams ensure that they are particularly efficient and capable, the Castleisland-based firm is continuously striving to expand its list of satisfied clients.
The company has become synonymous with the highest-quality workmanship and project delivery throughout the Kerry, Cork and Limerick region where they are now firmly established as one of the leading contractors in the region.
Griffin Brothers are leading by example in the area of workplace safety and is of the strong belief that it is the responsibility of the business to ensure that how it operates has a positive impact on people, the environment and communities. Griffin Brothers recognition at the NISO Awards 2020 is a welcome achievement in the pursuit of these beliefs.
Investment is key to their success whether it be employees or technology. With technological advances in recent years the company likes to stay at the forefront of these developments. The in-house management system is constantly being looked at to see where improvements can be made. A number of improvements have been launched in the last 12 months to the overall health & safety management system.
Griffin Brothers’ Quality Management System is certified under the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management standard, which was implemented by management to ensure the company is run efficiently, effectively and consistently, meeting and exceeding client requirements and expectations.
Meanwhile, under Griffin Brothers Environmental Management System ISO 14001:2015, all employees and subcontractors must comply with their Environmental Policy. The company complies with all legal requirements with regard to the environment and do all that is reasonably practicable to prevent and minimise any negative impact on the environment.
Like the majority of companies in the Country, many of Griffin Brothers projects are on hold due to the latest lockdown, but Tomás revealed that they are very busy.
“When these latest Covid restrictions are lifted we have a number of substantial projects to commence in the Munster region.
“Presently we have projects in the Munster Technological University (Cork Campus) which is about 40% completed, while we have social housing projects started in Limerick and Cork. We also have a number of projects locally in the Kerry region to commence in the next number of months.”
While the covid 19 pandemic has disrupted the construction industry Griffin Brothers revealed that the next 12 – 24 months look very promising and by having the necessary key management, people and systems in place these growth expectations will be achieved.
Contact Details:
Griffin Brothers Contracting Ltd
Killarney Road,
Castleisland,
Co. Kerry
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: 066 7141305
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, May, Vol 7 No 5
