Martin Botha

Our dedicated health and safety manager

Having served nine years as logistics manager at Elliott Thomas, Martin Botha has recently joined Rock as our new health and safety manager. “At Elliott Thomas I was involved in every aspect of managing site logistics to ensure an efficient and safe environment for all those working on site,” says Martin. “My new role will see me drive a cultural change throughout Rock in our bid to achieve Zero Harm by 2015.

“Traditionally, our industry’s approach to safety has been based on management-led observations, feedback and goal setting. But I believe that lasting behavioural change requires modification of contributors to unsafe behaviour, reinforcement of safer practices, and inclusion of strategies that sustain change over time. In this respect, getting the workforce on board is essential. I shall be conducting a one-to-one interview with all operatives at our new training facility in Elstow, accompanied by a 45 minute presentation and questionnaire that will reveal to me their current mindset.

“These will be the first steps to greater workforce engagement, so that it becomes second nature for people to rethink the decisions they make each day which influence the health and safety of themselves and others. Rock will be putting behavioural change into practice and will actively encourage our industry partners to follow suit.”

Mark Collinge

Rock’s new senior surveyor

Rock’s current phase of carefully planned growth has only underscored how critical it is to deliver fully on contracts. It was for this reason that in November 2011 we recruited Mark Collinge as senior surveyor. Until then, one of Rock’s longest standing professionals, Chris Brereton, had taken sole responsibility for quantity surveying. In line with Rock’s increasingly diverse portfolio, Mark has established our commercial department and recruited five full-time surveyors from the market. Before joining us he was a senior surveyor at Lakesmere, the national building envelope specialist involved on projects as large as Heathrow Terminal 2.

“Rock is gearing up for around £30m turnover this year in contract roofing and commercial business,” Mark revealed, “so in the last few months I have appointed a team who will focus on our expanding commercial contracts. I am based both in London and Birmingham and favour a very hands-on approach to my work. With our new team of quantity surveyors Rock is better equipped to keep a close eye on project finances and contractual relationships while continuing to provide clients with genuine value for money.”

On course for higher standards

Training at the Rock Academy

2012 sees the inauguration of the Rock Academy, a brand new training facility that shares the same site as our manufacturing plant in Elstow, Bedfordshire. The academy will provide third party certified training not just for our own people, but for those from partner organisations who wish to gain a better understanding of Rock’s areas of specialism. These include waterproofing, green roofs, renewable technology, tunnelling – all interfaces, in fact, that are associated with the finished deck. Those employed by our main contractor clients, such as younger, up-and-coming project managers, are sure to benefit from the hands-on guidance and coaching given by Rock’s experienced trainers.

Accompanying the launch of the Rock Academy is an internal scheme just for our own personnel, the Rock Passport. Our employees will each have a passport which carries a record of their training and qualifications to help establish standards and consistency. 

Rock’s training will promote teamwork and personal accountability, advocate the continuous improvement of skills and knowledge, and seek to raise standards of professionalism throughout our industry. Both the Rock Academy and the Rock Passport signal our dedication to excellence in performance through a stimulating and engaging learning experience.