Engineers make a stand for COVID-19 safety

Richard Johnston and Steve Redpath are directors of EC Groundworks and along with David Dougal are designers of the new SOS Stations. Normally found working on specialist civil engineering projects such as service station construction, construction projects in the power industry and more recently involved in the renewable energy sector the trio have found a niche in the health and safety market with their new products.

The idea for the first in the series of Safety on Site Stations came about when they realised that every time they set up their operation on an engineering project site they had to make a plywood structure for their fire extinguishers and first aid kits which took up valuable time and team resources.

"We had the idea of making a reusable, durable and robust one stop central point for first aid and emergency equipment that we could take from project to project. We looked at what we needed to comply with health and safety regulations and realised that other engineers and workplaces had the same problem as we did so we developed the "Safety on Site" (SOS) station," said Steve.

Each SOS Station isan environmentally friendly, weatherproof and transportable station that is tailor-made to meet the safety and first aid needs of its clients.It can be easily dis-assembled and moved from site to site.

The original Emergency Station was quickly followed by an Environmental Station for oil spills and an Information Station to welcome visitors to site. So far, the SOS Stations have found themselves shipped all over the world with applications in themanufacturing, construction, rail, engineering, waste water and chemical industries. Already, theStations have been adopted within the UK construction and rail maintenance sectors alike, being widely used by both the East West Rail Alliance and HS2 and new orders are being taken from clients in New Zealand, USA and Ireland.

The SOS station range has grown to meet the demands and requirements of their customers and the latest addition to the family, the Sanitisation Station was created as a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic.It contains automatically dispensed hand sanitiser, face masks, PPE shields, wipes and paper towels as well as hygienic disposal bins. Like all of the stations in the range, they come fully loaded with consumables or as a basic unit.

"We're especially pleased that the Sanitisation Station is helping businesses to get back to work by providing all of the PPE needed to manage the COVID-19 situation," said Richard.

"We're also very proud that the idea for and the manufacture of the SOS Stations is very much a British project and we're grateful for the help we've been given by Nick Neal, International Trade Advisor for the Department for International Trade. She has been working with our business for the past two years advising and supporting us with our product range including looking at routes to market and international opportunities."