VEKA boosts its critical safety skills on site

VEKA has partnered with East Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service to design and deliver innovative scenario-based team training aimed at boosting the company’s safety protocols for its employees.

VEKA operates a 400,000 sq. ft site at the Rossendale Road Industrial Estate in Burnley with almost 450 employees.

To ensure that it maintains critical levels of safety across its manufacturing, warehouse and office facilities, VEKA operates with appointed team members as fire marshals, safety representatives and first aiders. There are always two of these personnel in each department during working hours to safeguard employees, visitors and contractors while on site.

Led by VEKA’s Head of SHEQ, Richard Patten, and Barry Hindle, SHEQ Coordinator, the training session with the Fire and Rescue Service – which took place on 13 August with 22 attendees – was aimed at providing employees with critical skills needed for effective fire control and evacuation control methods.

“The focus of this training was not only teaching our team theoretical knowledge but also practical application,” said Richard. “We uphold the highest levels of safety across the VEKA site, and by working closely with the East Lancashire Fire and Rescue service, we’ve ensured that our team is not only prepared but also confident in their roles in the event of any emergencies occurring.”

The training sessions encompassed communication control exercises and a realistic live-action scenario involving a simulated fire situation. The exercise challenged participants to implement control points, manage evacuations, and coordinate with fire department responders effectively.

Richard added: “Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the event’s success in offering hands-on experience for these types of scenarios. The Fire and Rescue Service also found the training extremely useful and it was great to build relationships with the team.

“Our aspirations are to run a training event every quarter as this not only familiarises the Fire and Rescue Service with our facility but also ensures we have extremely capable safety related representatives within our organisation.”

UPVC Supplier – Door Systems & Window Manufacturer | VEKA plc (vekauk.com)