14 November 2011

Costain's Geotechnical Services Division (GSD) is adding to its steadily growing repertoire of skills by offering a new electrical safety service.

The Bourne End-based division has acquired the necessary equipment to carry out Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) and has trained up two staff to handle the kit. The checking of all electrical appliances in workplaces to prevent shocks from faulty or damaged equipment is a legal requirement.

GSD is studying the possibility of undertaking these safety checks for external organisations, but is for now concentrating on internal clients within the Group. Its first task for the new equipment (apart from checking its own offices at Allerton Bywater) was to give the all-clear to Costain’s site at London Heathrow Airport.

While GSD is looking further afield to find opportunities for its new service, it also hopes to be able to stop a small but steady leakage of cash from within the Group by offering its new service.

PAT has until now been carried out by external contractors. The hope is that, once the new capability is more widely known about, sites within the Group will lift the phone to GSD.

“If money has to be spent on testing,” says the Laboratory Manager at Bourne End, Bhavika  Ramrakhyani, “at least it’s being spent within the Group rather than outside.

“The idea is that we’re trying to make ourselves a ‘one-stop shop’ for a lot of services and this is one more addition to that.  GSD is still not as well-known as it should be within Costain and we’d like to change that.”

 

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