Introducing David Bacon: our new SHEQ Manager

Introducing David Bacon: our new SHEQ Manager

In September of last year we welcomed David Bacon to our team as our new SHEQ Manager and he’s already made a big impact in those nine months. Appointed to oversee our Health and Safety strategy, many of our groundworkers will be familiar with David from his recent site inspections. Most of you will have already have met him but we think it’s about time we give David an official Mackoy introduction.

So what better way to get to know the man spearheading our Health & Safety campaign than with a little quick fire Q&A? Over to you David…

Name: David Bacon

Role: SHEQ Manager

Lives: Romsey with wife Jayne, dog Louis, and three horses

Likes: Spending time with family (particularly his grandchildren), riding his Harley Davidson, tinkering with his Land Rover, and enjoying his garden.

Describe a typical working day at Mackoy…

Here at Mackoy, no two days are ever the same! I’m in the office roughly half of the week and I’m out on site visits the remainder of the time. So it’s a pretty even split between being desk based and on location. An important part of my job is to analyse trends within the business. Looking at reoccurring events and coming up with solutions for how we as a company can overcome them. A recent example is the Dumper Lanyard Key Fobs we have introduced to combat instances of dumper keys being left in the ignition. The Lanyard should ensure that this never happens. That’s what’s so rewarding about working in SHEQ, you get to uncover a problem, and implement a solution. In this case the results were seen instantly.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I enjoy every aspect of my job, especially visiting our Mackoy sites. It’s great to get out and meet the groundworks and civil engineering teams in person. They do a fantastic job, and it’s a privilege to see the quality work that’s taking place on our sites day to day. The Mackoy company culture is a really positive one and I admire the collaborative working ethos championed by owner Mike Mayock. He’s a big supporter of innovation, so if someone has an idea, he’s always willing to hear it out and take action.

Mackoy is a great place to work, with constant investment in the workforce, top-flight machinery, plus excellent employee rewards and initiatives, such as training, team days out and monthly awards. You don’t come across many organisations as committed to this level of investment as Mackoy. So I’m proud to be a part of such an innovative and exciting business.

What’s your biggest challenge as SHEQ Manager?

I think overcoming the perception that site inspections are purely to pick up on things that aren’t being done correctly. It’s just as important to Mackoy to identify the things that ARE being done well. In fact, whenever we pay a visit to a site we want to come away satisfied that everything’s operating to the highest standards and best practice, and also that all opportunities for improvement are recognised.

Our Mackoy reports actually include a ‘positive points’ column where we record everything we see that’s being done just that bit better. This information is used for our Site of The Month and Site Manager of The Month awards. So it’s a great way to ensure everyone who’s going the extra mile to conform to best practice gets the recognition they deserve.

What are you working on at the moment?

Our first SHEQ Newsletter issued in February 2018 featured the Lanyards for dumpers followed by one in May focusing on Safe Digging using Air Picks that we are trialling. I’m currently working on the next issue which features the enhanced controls for Hand Arm Vibration.

Hopefully the Air Pick trial will be successful and provide an easier and more efficient way to excavate in stony ground. And the Hand Arm Vibration controls should clarify to the user how long these tools can be used in a day. These are just two more of the innovations we hope to introduce this year as we continue to seek ways to improve our business from the ground up.

I’m also really pleased to be working with new Mackoy team member and SHEQ Assistant, Mathew Murray. Like me, Matt’s still relatively new to Mackoy, but is also getting familiar with the business, our people, and our sites. The addition of Mathew to the team means we can visit all our sites every month and have more time to make the changes we want.

Thank you David, it’s been a pleasure getting to know you a little better. And we look forward to seeing what other exciting innovations you bring to Mackoy in the coming weeks and months.

If, like David, you enjoy working for a company that invests in its people, and you have experience in the groundworks and civil engineering sector, take a look at our openings on our Mackoy Careers page.

Categories: Health and Safety