Hosking Associates provides support to Comfort Controls as their business grows
We last reported on Comfort Controls three years ago, highlighting the company’s professionalism and leading-edge practices when it comes to aspects of health and safety.
Comfort Controls help create energy-efficient buildings which are safe, sustainable and beneficial to their occupants. The company achieves this by carefully managing the balance between the user’s requirements and their energy consumption.
Formed in 1984 and based in the South East of England, Comfort Controls works on projects worldwide in a multitude of sectors including hospitals, universities, schools, retail parks, industrial units and leisure centres.
Comfort Controls operates as a building management controls specialist, a manufacturer and installer of motor control centres, as well as an electrical contractor.
Since 2015, Comfort Controls has experienced real growth – initially with 5-6 core staff they now employ 48 people full-time. The company also runs a Midlands division and has a dedicated service and maintenance department.
The company is proud to hold SafeContractor, Construction Line, CHAS and SMAS accreditations.
Vital for staff to be looked after
Comfort Control’s success is down to its staff; it is, therefore, vital these employees are looked after in the best way possible.
So important is the welfare of its staff that the company now employs its own dedicated health and safety coordinator; something Hosking Associates has been an advocate for. Louise Hosking, director at Hosking Associates, comments: “At the end of the day, we want our clients to be self-sufficient when it comes to their daily health and safety operations.”
In her role as the new health and safety coordinator, Jemma Blande makes sure all internal auditing of systems is completed, engineers are furnished with the right health and safety information at the right time and coordinates feedback. She comments: “Maintaining quality is key, and because of that health and safety is critical in all things we do. We need to make sure our highly skilled engineers get home safely.”
Working with Hosking Associates
Hosking Associates supports Comfort Controls with ongoing health and safety queries. The consultancy conducts an annual review of all relevant arrangements, reviews risk assessments and provides support for the team so they feel equipped to make the right risk-based choices. From this, action plans are put in place for the Comfort Controls team to act upon. It’s about driving health and safety from the top, filtering it down to everyone. Comfort Controls want to convey a real quality of work and to present themselves as professionally as possible.
Louise Hosking and team now also guide on aspects of well-being, and the focus of the last year has been on managing the health of the workforce. Kris Mitchell, director at Comfort Controls, commented: “We like our engineers to stay healthy and on top of their game, and keeping fit is a major part of this.”
“We are pushing through a number of wellbeing initiatives, including gym membership, health insurance and an anxiety/stress support package. We have also been talking to engineers more about health issues, so it starts to become part of our regular safety discussions.”
Growth journey
Kris Mitchell added: “Hosking Associates has played an integral role in our growth. Their strategic support has been second to none; Louise Hosking is the very best in her field, and she and her team have made it their business to get under the skin of Comfort Controls.”
“She continues to drive quality across the business at every level; ensuring everyone appreciates and embraces necessary risk assessments, instead of fearing them.”
“And, I am proud to say we are now in year eight of our health and safety success story. We continually evolve; not only because we have to, but because we want to.”
Accreditations (Gold Ribbon Award)
Following the most recent external audit, Hosking Associates were pleased to announce Comfort Controls won the Gold Ribbon Award – the highest accreditation possible via the health and safety consultancy for exemplary standards.
“The team at Hosking Associates have the right attitude and experience, and we knew they were the people to take us to the next level from a health and safety perspective. They knew where we were looking to get to and how we could achieve it.”
Louise Hosking adds: “We look at the business holistically and try to develop solutions for their health and safety concerns. We work alongside them as a team always looking for ways to improve standards and communication.”
“Comfort Controls is the ideal health and safety client; a company who are keen to adapt and learn and be the best they can be for the benefit of their staff and clients.”
