The R G Carter Group employs over 1000 people, turns over around £250 million annually, and delivers every facet of construction, civil engineering and refurbishment to a UK-wide client base. Their first CCS-registered site was back in 1999, and the company quickly realised that the Scheme’s aims very much mirrored their own ethos of honesty, integrity, respect, quality and training. Together with the benefits enjoyed as a result of registration, this encouraged further registrations and a closer look at what the Scheme could achieve for the industry.
Saul Humphrey, Regional Director & General Manager of R G Carter Ltd said:
“We recognised the value of independent assessment in driving up performance, and Associate Membership was the next logical step. We hope to benefit from being able to influence CCS development, to learn from close involvement with Scheme Monitors and to share best practice to drive continued improvement”.
Associate Membership was introduced by the Scheme in 2003 to allow qualifying companies, rather than individual sites, to commit their corporate support to the Scheme while undertaking the registration of all their sites going forward. It originated with just three Founder Members (Mulalley and Co Ltd, Lend Lease Ltd (formerly Bovis Lend Lease) and ISG Construction Ltd), but since then has grown apace to include both large and small companies from every side of the industry. Membership remains restricted to companies with a proven track record of successful Scheme participation and the ability to make a strong future commitment. The reality of this commitment is evidenced by the performance to date of current Associate Members whose average site scores have been consistently nearly 2 points higher than all other registered sites.
Much is expected of Associate Members in terms of their various sites’ performances and their company’s intellectual contribution to Scheme development. This contribution has proved extremely successful with this group playing a fundamental part in helping the Scheme drive forward many new and exciting developments over the last 8 years. Membership itself allows for companies with different levels of annual turnover relating to automatic site registration, which ensures equality of participation to every size of company.
Phil Mason, Business Improvement Manager of founder members ISG Construction Ltd said:
“As a business, we are continuously looking for ways to improve and the Scheme’s eight-point Code of Considerate Practice provides the ideal framework. It very much reflects our own core values, which makes it relevant as well. Associate Membership means we attend the Associates review meetings, and this provides us with the ideal opportunity to influence the future direction of the Scheme.”
Andrew Kinsey, Head of Environmental Operations, Lend Lease, adds:
“Lend Lease was privileged to be invited to join as one of the founding Associate Members of the Scheme, and this Membership has provided a great opportunity for dialogue with the scheme administrators, networking with our peers and access to valuable data across all of our construction projects.
“We’ve been able to share our experiences with like-minded organisations
and individuals who all share in the common objective of improving the image of the industry. Over the years, the Scheme has not just become a part of the way Lend Lease does business, but with the increasing number of Associates and Company Registration, the Scheme’s objectives and Code of Practice is increasingly becoming a part of the way industry does business.”
Commenting on the addition of the 50th Associate Member,Considerate Constructors Scheme Chairman, Robert Biggs, added:
“We are delighted to welcome the R G Carter Group to Associate Membership and look forward to the positive contribution they will undoubtedly make. With 50 key players from across the construction industry now forming our Associate group, we have a unique and hugely-experienced knowledge resource to help us take the Scheme successfully forward.”
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