Just want to genuinely say how beneficial the whole BAA AOS process was to my site, Dewars Quarry, and Smiths as a whole. After receiving the Audit criteria, it was very clear it was going to be a big task and a time-consuming one. What the process clearly did was check that we had all the essential aspects covered in our processes , H&S doc etc.. It was incredible how detailed and thorough the Audit itself was with a full day of process, paperwork and activity proving. Which highlighted some of our strengths and really helped us to understand some fragilities although no major ones in our processes that had been overlooked or missed. I was very grateful for the regular support given at each stage of the proving and improving process , after a month of continual improvement we felt as a site we were in a stronger more confident position to carry out tasks , assess the needs of training and how to identify them and highlighted weaknesses. The standards required for the whole process were very high and testing I found some of the info chasing frustrating and challenging but more than ever it is very clear why they are required and we now as a company have a great opportunity to take what we have learned at Dewars forward with confidence. I strongly believe that every site, certainly those similar to Dewars, should go through this process. They can only get positive results from this and improve their standards of confidence and performance. As a confident Site Manager and someone who always wants to do the right thing and has a good understanding of what is required it helped me develop my skills and knowledge further to contribute towards the BAA’s ‘Minimum Harm’ aspiration, it has installed confidence , wellbeing and positivity among the staff who work on site and there seems a stronger understanding among them for positive Health and Safety and an increased measure of pride and collaboration to make sure we all go home safe and well. It was great meeting you on site when we were presented with the award for BAA Quarry of the year, it has been a great education and experience which I feel I had to work well and efficiently towards achieving. I hope you get to carry out this process with many more sites and drop the attitude (which I have seen many times) of “my site is perfect, and I do not like Audits or positive criticism,” it’s people’s lives, wellness, and financial benefits at stake. Mark Stanway  Smiths & Sons
(Bletchington)