Policies and Procedures
AA Woods operates in a safety critical industry and we are proud of our excellent reputation for responsible practices in all aspects of safety. We employ a dedicated Compliance Team who report directly to the Board of Directors and we ensure that every element of the business adheres to the regulations pertinent to our operations.
We operate an Integrated Management System across the business. We are fully accredited to UKAS through QAS and are certified for quality ISO 9001:2015, environment ISO 14001:2015 and health and safety ISO 45001:2018. Our system ensures compliance with the recognised quality standards incorporating company procedures and processes. We pride ourselves in being focussed on continuous improvement and best practice. Continuous improvement is important to the ongoing development of long term collaborative relationships and is at the forefront of our philosophy.
Health and Safety
Our proactive approach to health and safety management confirms our commitment to achieving the highest standards across all our operations.
Robust policies and procedures are in place to ensure suitable and sufficient control measures are deployed at all times to mitigate and / or eliminate foreseen risks and hazards within the workplace.
We employ a Compliance Team who in addition to external auditors undertake proactive monitoring to live projects at regular intervals based on a structured audit schedule across all regions.
In recognition of our safe practices we successfully renewed our three year asbestos license in September 2022.
Equality and Diversity
We are committed to the principle that no employee, job applicant, sub-contractor or supplier working for or on behalf of the business shall receive unfavorable treatment on grounds of age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marriage, civil partnership or pregnancy.
No employee, job applicant, sub-contractor or supplier will feel in anyway harassed, bullied, threatened or intimidated. The management team continually encourage a culture that is respectful of all people, where everyone is treated equally and with dignity.
AA Woods is an equal opportunity employer and operates an Equality and Diversity Policy.
Employment
We genuinely believe that our greatest asset is the people that work within our business.
We adopt the principle of direct employment within our workforce as we consider this gives us both flexibility and loyalty.
With a workforce of over 100 personnel across the company, we invest in our employees promoting motivation and recognition.
We realise that recruiting and developing employees from all areas of the community makes us a more effective business and a vibrant and interesting company to work for.
Quality
Quality management is recognised as a key factor in the successful completion of all our work.
Our policies are consistent and provides the framework for the setting and review of objectives in addition to our commitment to satisfy regulatory and legislative requirements as well as our pledge to continually improve our processes.
We have made a commitment to understand our current and future customers’ needs; meet their requirements and strive to exceed their expectations. This approach to quality management is successfully demonstrated by the high level of repeat business we receive from our clients.
Supply Chain
We manage an established and integrated local supply chain of approved sub-contractors and suppliers with whom we have formed long-term working relationships. Through promoting sustainable procurement and working in partnership, we collaboratively add value, achieve high customer satisfaction and deliver success.
Our supply chain plays an integral role in delivering high quality and value to our clients which impacts on our reputation. We encourage our sub-contractors and suppliers to have similar values and philosophy to that of our own as well as the importance of their impact on the environment through products, materials and services.
Approval of all potential supply chain members is through a rigorous selection procedure prior to being accepted onto our approved list. Performance is monitored through regular review meetings in addition to sharing knowledge and best practice. This ensures supply chain partner level is maintained and continuous improvement is encouraged.
Environment
We are committed to effective environmental management, sustainability and carbon reduction, recognising that environmental protection is one of the most important issues of our time.
We work collaboratively with all of our clients to support their own sustainability commitments in line with our own Sustainability Policy and Carbon Reduction Plan.
We are committed to sustainability and innovating to make our business and services more sustainable and mitigate any negative impacts on the environment as a result of our activity, whilst also recognising the importance of value for money for our clients and their stakeholders.
Assessed to ISO14001 we have set ourselves annual targets for managing and reducing our carbon footprint:
- Emissions of C02e: we have set an annual target of a 2% reduction in carbon emissions and a longer term target to be Net Zero by 2030. Pending achievement of the Net Zero goal, we use carbon offsetting which allows us to demonstrate that we are carbon neutral.
- Impact of materials use: we use the BRE Green Guide and work closely with our supply chain to identify the most sustainable products and materials, including those with reduced packaging and recyclable packaging, which are themselves recyclable and which contain recycled material. All timber is FSC or PEFC chain of custody certified.
- Waste and Recycling: the asbestos waste we inevitably produce cannot be recycled, but is disposed of in accordance with the Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005 (as amended 2009). However, we strive to minimise waste in all other areas. Our Intelligent Business Operating Platform has virtually eliminated the use of paper, and what remaining paper used, along with cardboard and packaging, is recycled, as are printer cartridges and office consumables. We have made provision for “domestic type” waste, such as food wrapping, cans, plastic and glass bottles to be recycled by our office and site teams.
