Aggregate Industries - Case Study

Background

Aggregate Industries is a leading player in the construction and infrastructure industries. It produces and supplies a wide range of construction materials including aggregates, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete and precast concrete products. It also manufactures, imports and supplies cementitious materials and offers a national road surfacing and contracting service.

It operates 360 sites across the UK, Channel Islands and Northern Europe and employs over 4,000 colleagues. Its aim is to deliver value through a wide range of construction materials and services.

The Challenge

During a review of its workplace services suppliers, Aggregate Industries opened a tender to provide protective workwear and laundry services across all of its UK sites. Recognising the quality and benefits of the unique service on offer, Aggregate Industries agreed to allow PHS Besafe to take on 2 of its more challenging depots for a trial period.

These sites had reported that protective workwear, a basic safety requirement, wasn’t lasting as long as expected. Often items were being poorly laundered by the existing supplier, rendering them less effective and, in some cases, were not being returned to site when expected.

Workers needed hardworking yet comfortable garments compliant with EN20471 and suitable for use in a variety of roles.

The Solution

After assessing requirements, PHS Besafe provided a range of garments on a weekly laundering service, matching the right protective clothing to the right environment and to the correct standard. Polycotton Hi-viz workwear was provided for general quarry workers; welders were quarry workers; welders were equipped with flame retardant clothing; electricians were supplied with specialised Arc gear, providing optimum protection in case of an arc flash.

As well as applying the Aggregate Industries logo to the garments, PHS Besafe also marked flame retardant and Arc clothing, giving staff extra reassurance.

After being measured and fitted with pre-washed garments by PHS Besafe’s experienced team, staff were instructed in the laundering process and required to sign for their items to confirm their commitment to the workwear, thus reducing the garment exchange rate.

Conveniently located collection boxes made it easy for workers to return garments for specialised laundering and repair (if required), while PHS Besafe operatives returned clean workwear to lockers, meaning that staff were never without the appropriate clothing.

After 2 years of wearer trials, PHS Besafe has now become Mandatory Supplier to all Aggregate Industries sites, expecting to provide, launder and maintain approximately 20,000 garments on a weekly basis.

The Benefits

PHS Besafe’s fully managed and traceable service has reduced workwear administration for Aggregate Industries through its quarterly reporting on every garment.

Each item is labelled with a barcode linking every staff member to their own workwear so that it can be tracked throughout the maintenance procedures. Those not adhering to the laundering process can be re-educated to ensure that maximum usage is gained from each garment.

Most importantly, workers are sufficiently protected in clothing that is fit for purpose.