Sinclair International

Sinclair International utilised British Safety Council's audit and consultancy services to ensure that the company’s health and safety management systems (HSMS) remains at ‘best practice’ levels.

Sinclair International Ltd, based in Norwich, provides a comprehensive range of individual item labels (including certified compostable options) for fruit and vegetable growers worldwide, as well as automated, high-speed machines to apply them.

Employing around 135 permanent staff, Sinclair adheres to a strong set of principles

• A commitment to service, supporting customers where and when needed
• A dedication to innovation, continuously improving their products and services
• A pledge to the environment, minimising their footprint as much as possible
• A promise of food-safe products, ensuring every label they make is compliant with key global regulations.

So, it follows that they would also want to show leadership in their employee health, safety and wellbeing provisions.

Rick Stefanetti, Health and Safety Manager at Sinclair, wanted to ensure that the company’s health and safety management systems (HSMS) remains at ‘best practice’ levels and worked with British Safety Council’s audit team to find the best way to do so.

British Safety Council’s audit and consultancy services are internationally recognised and are the most effective way to ensure safety, health, wellbeing and environmental management systems reflect relevant legislative requirements, meet recognised international standards and work toward best practice techniques.

Rick said, “At Sinclair we pride ourselves on working with our partners collaboratively, to find solutions that support them when and where they need it, sharing the big-picture vision. Working with the auditors in British Safety Council feels exactly the same.”

As part of the consultative approach, the scope of the Sinclair audit was agreed between Rick Stefanetti and the British Safety Council, with no areas excluded, and consisted of:

• Formal and informal interviews with management, staff and other stakeholders
• Site tour, inspection and operational sampling
• Review of Occupational Health and Safety management documentation.

British Safety Council ethos which, unlike other providers, is centred on helping find solutions is a valuable support to many involved in managing Health and Safety in their business.

This consultative approach allows British Safety Council to act as a ‘trusted partner’ not only measuring against clear expectations but also acting as a sounding board using the experience of the auditor to help decide courses of action to address challenging issues.

Rick Stefanetti continued, “They don’t just offer a prescriptive audit but their consultative approach to the audit has allowed us to improve and maintain a robust HSMS. They offer really insightful guidance on best practice and innovation, which allows us to set our health, safety and wellbeing provisions apart from those of our competitors.”