Millerhill Recycling and Energy Recovery Centre (RERC)
A Standout Health & Safety Performance at Millerhill
Here, at Arthur McKay, safety is our number one priority on each and every project we deliver. However, it has to be said that the site team’s performance on Hitachi Zosen INOVA’s (HZI) Energy from Waste plant, which was officially handed over today, was a standout Health & Safety performance for all the right reasons.
Creating new EfW plants, combining proper waste disposal with energy production is a global need and, Swiss-based company, HZI is a global leader in this high-tech industry. Arthur McKay was delighted to be employed by HZI to complete the electrical fit-out works to this key municipal waste facility on the outskirts of Edinburgh – a first for the nation’s capital.
The Millerhill Recycling and Energy Recovery Centre (RERC) was developed by Edinburgh City and Midlothian Councils in partnership with operator FCC Environment (UK), who signed a 25-year contract to deliver and operate the £142m plant in October 2016, with the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) role delivered through a joint venture between HZI and FCC.
Now open and operational, the plant will treat around 135,000 tonnes of household residual waste and a further 20,000 tonnes of commercial waste every year, maximising recovery of energy content within the waste, generating renewable energy and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. It is anticipated that the plant will generate sufficient electricity, each year, to satisfy the energy demands of approximately 32,000 households across the Edinburgh City and Midlothian Council regions whilst diverting 155,000 tonnes of waste from landfill. This new facility, therefore, makes a massive contribution towards achieving the Scottish Government’s national waste targets: for 70% of waste generated to be recycled or composted and 95% of waste to be diverted from landfill by 2025.
At its peak, there were over 400 multi-national operatives on site and, given the nature of the work environment, the site operated under the most stringent of Health & Safety rules. In particular, in some areas of the plant, operatives were required to work at heights of up to 36m; commanding strict adherence to all site rules, to ensure that all Working at Height risk mitigation factors were carefully considered and safe methods of work planned and followed to the letter.
During construction, HZI operated a “Contractor of the Month” scheme to incentivise a consistently high standard of Health & Safety performance and, prior to working with Arthur McKay, this award had never been presented to the same contractor, two months in a row. However, such was the quality of the Health & Safety delivery from the site team at Millerhill, that Arthur McKay won HZI’s “Contractor of the Month” for an unprecedented two consecutive months in June and July. Moreover, Arthur McKay employees were presented with HZI’s “Safety Employee of the Month” for four consecutive months (June, July, August and September). So, it’s fair to say, that Arthur McKay’s Health & Safety performance stands out from the crowd. It is an excellent testimony to the capability and quality of delivery by Arthur McKay’s site team to have received such an emphatic endorsement from this global industry leader.
The client’s HSE Manager commented:
“Please pass on my thanks and gratitude to the senior Arthur McKay management team, for the excellent safety work of their team here at the Millerhill site.”
Anthony Jobson, HSE Manager, Hitachi Zosen Inova AG
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