Mott MacDonald Bentley (MMB) has hosted a construction safety assembly with pupils at a school close to a new project in the North-East.
With Springwell Village Primary School located nearby to where MMB have been appointed by Northumbrian Water to help build a new £50m+ underground reservoir, the site team recognised the need to engage and educate the local children about the importance of site safety. They considered that many children might not have been exposed to construction sites and delivering an interactive presentation could help to educate them about the dangers.
The presentation was given to the entire school, where the team explained their role in construction and emphasised their commitment to keeping the community safe and the importance of personal protective equipment (PPE) and safety training. They also engaged the children with a ‘spot the hazards’ activity and asked questions throughout, sparking participation.
The team then developed a creative competition for the pupils to design site safety posters; the winning poster from each year group would be displayed on site for all to see. The children thoroughly enjoyed the activities and took the opportunity to ask questions too.
The school thanked MMB for the assembly, and the team were pleased to have left the children with a better understanding of site safety and to have established a positive relationship with the community.
As schools are often at the heart of many communities, educational visits are important in helping us to promote STEM and engage with local stakeholders so that they understand the purpose of the schemes we’re delivering, ensuring that we leave a positive legacy in our operational areas.
An MMB Site Agent recently gave a similar assembly presentation about PPE to over 90 primary school students near to our Project Munio, where we are designing and building a new pumping station for Derby City Council.
Close to Cinderford Wetlands, a nature-based solution scheme we’re delivering with Severn Trent Water, two members of the MMB design team spent a day at the local junior school where they engaged in activities with around 200 pupils on the topic of wastewater filtration.
Following the assembly, Sarah-Jayne Parvin, Customer Liaison Officer for MMB, commented, “The team were delighted that the presentation was received well by the school children and to see so many engaging with site safety – something that could easily be seen as a ‘boring’ subject!
We look forward to continuing to work with the community in the future – their support and involvement are critical to the success of this project.”
Operations Director, Tom Lewis, added, “Supporting the communities surrounding our sites is of high importance to us.
We work hard to develop lasting and trusting relationships with our customers, acting as ambassadors for our clients (explaining why we are doing the work and the resulting benefits).
We encourage our teams to add value to the communities in which we work by utilising their time, skills and expertise where possible.
Well done to the team at Springwell for being a great example of this.”
Above: The MMB team delivering their site safety presentation for children at Springwell Village Primary School, where we’ve been contracted by Northumbrian Water to build a new underground reservoir nearby – a £50m+ scheme that’ll secure water supplies for thousands of customers in South Tyneside.
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