52 | Scafit Ltd CONTRACTING T T Kelly Deeks Making a business a force for good Scafit designs,engineers and installs sturdy scaffold solutions for construction projects. Below – Nicki and Dave Crowley CLOUD SERVICES HARDWARE SERVICES IT SECURITY & BACKUP INTERNET SERVICES VRC Computers: Supporting the Manawatu for over 20 years Locally owned and operated - Come and visit our new showroom! Unit 3, 152-166 Rangitikei St, Palmerston North 06 354 5786 icib.co.nz Insurance built for the WGEŴSPHMRK MRHYWXV] *SV QSVI MRJSVQEXMSR GSRXEGX David Chow M +64 27 482 6832 E david@icib.co.nz Designing, engineering, and installing sturdier scaffolding solutions for construction projects in the central and lower North Island, Scafit is proud to be a company that focuses on safety and culture before its bottom line. Scafit was started in 2006 by husband and wife team Nicki and David Crowley. “There were only a couple of scaffolding companies in town, so we got a ute and trailer and the best scaffolding from Layher, and have just grown and grown ever since,” Nicki says. “We now have 60 staff and branches in Whanganui and Palmerston North, and due to my nursing background, we have focused quite a lot on health and safety.” Scafit became an accredited employer with ACC 13 years ago and going through that process helped the company to develop a culture for change. “It made us realise we needed to focus on staff and culture to get a good outcome for health and safety. Then we thought what should we do next? We decided to go for the highest international accreditation we could get, with the ISO 45001 certification for health and safety management and we achieved it two years ago.” Scafit is one of only 400 New Zealand companies to achieve ISO 45001 and to acquire it, companies must demonstrate excellent long-term health and safety management, monitoring, and reporting, including providing evidence to show best practice health and safety management has been part of the company culture for more than five years. “It’s a commitment to continual improvement,” Nicki says. “ We are set to go through our third audit this year and every time we go through the process, we learn and understand even more about what we should be doing with our health and safety programme. And with that comes more of a cultural change, and making sure all of our staff are looked after.” Scafit instigated a new wellness policy about eight years ago which offers multiple benefits to the team, who have all been part of the journey towards ISO 45001 accreditation. The team starts the week with a cooked breakfast every Monday morning, and the kitchen remains open with toast and cereal for the rest of the week. Scafit offers a $300 reimbursement for medical expenses after Nicki and Dave realised the cost of going to the doctor, particularly in the weekend, was becoming a barrier to the good health of their staff. Nicki and Dave also provide an on-call physiotherapist and completely confidential psychologist sessions for anyone struggling for any reason. “This is one of the best things we have ever done,” Nicki says. “I’ve got a few psychologists on speed dial and they give our team the tools they need to deal with tough situations.” The Crowleys’ drive to make their business a force for good has led them to seek another accreditation, and Scafit is now a certified B Corp, or Benefit Corporation, verified by global nonprofit network B Lab as meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. “It means we’ve made a commitment to doing right by our staff, our customers, and our community,” Nicki says. Scafit’s people-centric approach has now put the company in the running for a Beacons Award from the Construction Sector Accord, which champions the construction sector’s most transformative and innovative approaches.
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