Our company is a young one, formed only in late 2013 to carry out civil engineering works in the North East of England and in Yorkshire. We work primarily for main contractors and for several of the larger housebuilding organisations.
The challenges the company faced were borne from the circumstances of its creation. Known previously as J Hughes Construction, the former company was a casualty of the recession and went into administration as a result of the collapse of one of its major clients. Nevertheless, the management team and much of its workforce set about the creation of Applebridge Construction Ltd (ACL).
The challenges in the early days of the new company included the problems associated with motivating a workforce who’d suffered the effects (physical, emotional and financial) of losing their jobs. The Board signalled their intentions immediately by applying large, main contractor health and safety principles to a relatively small subcontracting company. And by setting the bar so high, the workforce reacted positively.
More recently, further challenges have arisen – not least those associated with ACL’s continued growth. During its short existence the company has increased significantly in size (its turnover has risen five-fold). Despite the challenges this brings the directors remain committed to continued investment in its health and safety management systems and its culture.
Without the foundation of good safety standards and a healthy workforce the company could not have succeeded the way it has.
