Health and safety specialist Britrisk is reaping the rewards of managing director Tom Searle’s membership of the Golf Consultants Association (GCA) after securing three new clients.
The Croydon-based company landed the agreements with Windlesham GC and Bramley GC through Searle’s networking with fellow GCA members Neil Dainton and Jerry Kilby. And it also recently signed an agreement with the prestigious Leaderboard Group.
Britrisk will not only assist in improving H&S standards at the various clubs but will also act as a de facto health and safety manager.
Searle, who has more than 20 years’ experience in providing H&S support for UK organisations, explained: “Unfortunately, in my experience, H&S compliance standards at many golf clubs are not good. Needless to say, our aim is to significantly raise those standards for our new clients, as we have done successfully at many golf venues since becoming active in the industry via our acquisition of Jon Allbutt Associates, in 2012.
“While we have worked with Leaderboard previously, engaging with Windlesham and Bramley, in particular, is a great example of how working together in the GCA can have mutual benefits. The clear endorsement from Neil and Jerry carried a lot of weight and demonstrates significant trust in the quality and ethos of what Britrisk is endeavouring to deliver to all our clients.”
The company’s strap-line, ‘Business Intelligent Health & Safety’, is key to helping clients to cut through the all too frequent paperwork overload that can get health and safety a negative reputation.
Searle continued: It’s actions that keep people safe, or not, so that forms our focus. Documentation should assist that aspiration rather than acting as a burden and a drain on resources.”
Howard Swan, chairman of the GCA and an architect at Swan Golf Designs, added: “Since joining GCA Tom Searle has contributed greatly to the development of the association and his increased exposure through our website and our regular newsletters has enabled him to spread the word of his considerable expertise in health and safety in the golf business marketplace.
“I have found in my own work, as an expert in safety cases related to the design of golf courses and accidents on them, that it is an area which is often taken for granted by many golf clubs. Without doubt, more and more should be considering the auditing of their facilities in all respects to ensure the necessary safeguards and risk assessments are put in place. Having a professional expert to do so is essential, I would suggest.”
GCA, formed in 1999, is unique in the UK in its ability to make available a team of highly-respected and experienced golf industry professionals to see any phase of a project through from conception to end.