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Spring 2021 47 www.hae.org.uk www.eha.org.uk A sharp upturn in home renovations has led to Blackpool-based Smiths Hire opening new depots and adding 35 excavators to its fleet. The company, one of the North West’s largest independent equipment hire companies, currently operates 16 depots in areas including Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester and Preston. Having recently marked its milestone 50-year anniversary, and previously being named HAE- National Hire Company of the Year 2018/19, it has recently undergone significant business growth and will be adding a further three depots to its roster later this year in Burnley, Castleford and Morecambe servicing the Lancaster area. Managing Director of Smiths Hire, Thomas Smith, said: “While we’re always extremely busy at this time of year, with a lot more people working at home, and current restrictions allowing construction work to continue, home-scale projects are on the rise and demand for smaller excavators is huge.” The new excavators have been supplied by Kubota dealer PV Dobson. D ustcontrol AB, which develops dust extraction solutions and centralised vacuum systems, has been officially certified according to ISO 45001 on Occupational Health and Safety in addition to already being certified with ISO 9001 on Quality Management Systems and ISO 14001 on Environmental Management Systems. Director of subsidiary Dustcontrol UK, James Miller, said: “The environmental policy complies with current environmental legislation, rules, requirements and standards, and works to ensure continuous improvement regarding sustainability, physical wellbeing and a safe working environment. The removal of dust from the workplace isn’t just an environmental and health issue, but also a business issue; so, the cleaner the workplace, the better the end result.” According to the International Labour Organisation, more than 7,600 people die from work-related accidents or diseases every single day. With this greater onus on reducing workplace risks and improving employer safety, ISO 45001 ensures that the wellbeing of staff is preserved at the forefront of an organisation’s ethos. DUST EXTRACTION SPECIALIST CERTIFIED ON OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY J CT has released the latest batch of dates for its JCT Training Online courses, including a range of new courses that have been added to its digital programme for the first time. The dates for May/June 2021 include new courses on the JCT Standard Building Contract 2016, JCT Intermediate Building Contract 2016, and JCT Minor Works Building Contract 2016. These are in addition to the JCT Design and Build Contract 2016 and JCT Contracts 2016 – The Legal Perspective courses, which launched last year and will re-run in this latest batch. The contract-specific courses provide an in-depth look at forms and variants, and aims to provide detailed knowledge and guidance to make sure common pitfalls are avoided and to provide confidence in dealing with the contract. The legal perspective course is aimed at those with more experience of using JCT contracts who are seeking to gain a detailed understanding of the legal framework underpinning the JCT suite. JCT Training Online courses are three hours duration, delivered as live broadcast webinars. Interactivity is provided with the ability to ask questions through the interface during set aside Q&A segments. For further details visit www.jctltd.co.uk/jct-training/available-courses . NEW COURSES ADDED TO ONLINE TRAINING PROGRAMME HOME RENOVATIONS BOOSTS BUSINESS FOR BLACKPOOL COMPANY