Health and safety director joins Nationwide Platforms

Nationwide Platforms (NWP), the UK’s largest access equipment rental company has appointed Phill Ross as Health, Safety and Environment Director.

Recruited to further Nationwide Platforms’ culture of safety, Ross brings decades of experience to the company.

An unconventional route to health and safety management, Phill started his career with a Civil Engineering apprenticeship, completing a BTEC ONC and HNC in civil engineering and going onto study for a further four years, successfully completing a diploma from the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM). It was during his time in the water industry with the introduction of the Construction Design and Management Regulations (CDM) that Ross started his Health and Safety training and a passion for HSE really took hold.

Nationwide Platforms (NWP), has appointed Phill Ross as Health, Safety & Environment Director.

He said, “I’ve always had an interest in construction as I enjoy design and problem solving. I recall early in my career there was an incident on site, I remember thinking how can you go to work and get hurt, just going to work and not getting home safely does not compute for me. My main motivation has always been to make sure people get home at the end of every day. Decades later, I never tire of celebrating safety milestones.”

In 2004 Ross joined Alfred McAlpine as a regional HSE lead, before it was bought by Carillion which presented Phill with a promotion to Head of HSE and opportunity to gain experience across a varied construction portfolio as well as supporting international projects from Canada to the Middle East. In 2014 he moved on to Balfour Beatty, where he held the role of HSES director for the last three years.

“Nationwide Platforms has made huge strides with innovations like Harness On, I am really excited to see all the innovations we will continue to bring to market.

“Change often starts internally, and it’s clear that Nationwide Platforms values its people. Health is being championed alongside safety, not just with monitoring and training, but with little things like promoting work-life balance, discounted gym membership, continued employee engagement, that really foster that caring culture. It’s been fantastic to see changing attitudes over the years, especially with challenges like mental health awareness, but there’s still progress to be made.”

“There’s a real opportunity for me to make a difference here, especially with the support from the Leadership Team and external bodies such as IPAF.”

Nationwide Platforms focuses on apprenticeships Rental company highlights apprenticeship success stories during National Apprenticeship Week