WALSALL-BASED joint integrity and engineering services group Hydratight has become the first company in its field to gain full BS health and safety and ISO quality and environmental accreditation across its UK operations.

The awarding of the full BS OHSAS 18001: 1999 international standard for the company's centres in Walsall, Morpeth and Aberdeen follows a rigorous, 12-month revision of safety management practices that is currently also extending to its international divisions across America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

"We want to make sure we're the preferred contractor for our clients. So, we must demonstrate that Hydratight is one of the safest companies in the world - both as an employer and as a contractor," said Hydatight's global safety and environmental manager, Dave Stout.

"The company's impressive safety record is being improved every year, he said. "In the last five years we have reduced our Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) year on year from 1.13 in 2003 down to 0.04 in 2008.

"We are in a business where safety is a top priority: one error can lead to loss of life, or of millions of pounds in lost operations," he added.

The company has had ISO accreditation in quality management for over 15 years and in environmental standards for six years.

"Hydratight has always prided itself on operating with stringent safety rules for employees: this independent occupational health and safety standard, on top of the other two, shows our clients that the same safety and quality considerations apply to every job we undertake. 

"As far as we can ascertain, we are the only company of our size in this line of work to have achieved certification to all three international standards. Clients know anything we do for them will be done as safely as it can be - and in a business in which errors can cost millions, that directly affects their bottom line."