Case
Client: BP UK
Location: Wavendon Gate forecourt, Milton Keynes
Services: Branding and full site upgrade, with exemplary health & safety procedure
The project:
Wavendon Gate is BP’s busiest forecourt; a stone’s throw from the fuel giant’s headquarters in Milton Keynes. DRB UK was called upon to upgrade the whole site, including all branding and signage – a major undertaking at a location with extremely high footfall and consequent value to BP. Disruption of services had to be kept to a minimum, with the safety of visitors and workers at the forecourt of paramount importance.
The project demonstrates DRB UK’s team’s expertise in completing works to the utmost quality, on time and on budget, while handling the challenges of a high-risk environment to a standard that caught the attention of the senior manager at BP UK, Rob Ramos. Rob visited the site during the works in August 2022:
“I just wanted to say thank you to you and your team for your fantastic safety leadership behaviours that I witnessed at bp Wavendon Gate on 30th August.” (Rob Ramus, Senior Manager – health, safety, environment & carbon, mobility & convenience, UK & Europe)
As an end-to-end forecourt branding, signage and services provider (DRB UK also delivers full maintenance services, including cleaning and repairs), its engineers have the challenge of working across the whole site – from the roadway through to retail establishments. At Wavendon, the team was called upon to update all branding, way-marking and lighting throughout the facility.
To keep disruption to a minimum, DRB UK uses zoning, cordoning off a particular area and then moving on when the task is complete in order to keep workers and the public safe. For example, DRB would only work on one fuel dispenser at a time, maximising uptime.
Assess risk & communicate
Before starting any works, a survey and pre-start meeting with BP took place to get a better understanding of their expectations, the way the forecourt is run and the likely hazards which may be encountered. DRB UK also met with other contractors on site in order to share working practices and create a mutually relevant risk assessment.
Overall, communication is key, making sure everyone is engaged – from fuel delivery drivers to shop staff. In the first instance, this helps to ascertain all eventualities and once works are underway, this communication is an essential part of keeping people safe.
Strong leadership
DRB UK’s staff are highly trained and have the confidence and autonomy to take a stand if they see something unsafe going on. At Wavendon, the approach of Keith Worral, Project Supervisor for DRB UK, caught the attention of Rob Ramus:
“I was very impressed with Keith’s knowledge and more importantly his attitude to safety; he genuinely cared for everyone who worked or visited the site, he felt empowered to stop any unsafe activity and led by example by ensuring the team understood the risks and managed them accordingly.
“In fact, I was so impressed with Keith’s leadership behaviours, I made a point to share his positive attitude across BP Retail, not just in the UK, but globally. We do exactly the same activity in over 15 countries (including Europe, America, Australia, South Africa and Mexico) and it was great to share ‘what good looks like’ with my global colleagues,” concluded Rob.
Paul Harrison, Project Director for DRB UK, added: “As a business, we strive for excellence in everything we do; measures of success are not just the visual effect of an upgraded site. Gaining recognition for our processes and procedures, particularly those that keep people safe, is a great testament to the DRB UK team.
“I am extremely proud that our health & safety policy has been considered an exemplar of good working practices, matching the values of the high-profile customers we work for.”
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