August 2010

Ocean re-awarded SAFEcontractor status

Ocean Group Holdings Ltd has successfully retained its status as an approved contractor under the SAFEcontractor Health and Safety assessment scheme.

Ocean Contract Cleaning Ltd and Ocean Contract Cleaning London Ltd have also been re-accredited under the scheme. All three companies have been awarded new certificates in recognition of their efforts to promote health and safety in the workplace.

SAFEcontractor is the fastest growing health and safety accreditation scheme in the UK, with thousands of registered members from a wide range of industry sectors.

Becoming an approved contractor under the scheme gives Ocean’s clients peace of mind by proving we take health and safety seriously as an organisation.

It also grants access to a vast database of health and safety information provided by SAFEContractor to its members.

The accreditations were received following a thorough inspection of Ocean’s health and safety procedures. Ocean’s Health and Safety Manager Maureen Threadgold said: “I’m delighted we have been re-awarded this esteemed accreditation.

“We were first awarded SAFEContractor certification in 2008. Achieving it again shows the emphasis we place on providing a safe working environment for our employees.”

Soundsec in the running to secure two awards

Security provider Soundsec has been shortlisted in two categories at the prestigious Security Excellence Awards (SEA).

The London-based company, which was acquired by Ocean last year, has been named as a finalist in the category of Best Practice in Door Supervision.

 
Soundsec’s Commercial Director Bernard Page has also made the final shortlist in the award for Contract Security Manager of the year.

 
The Security Excellence Awards are now in their 12th year and have consistently broken new ground in highlighting the very best people, projects and processes within the UK security industry.

 
The awards ceremony will be held in October at the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane, London.

 
Ocean Security Solutions Managing Director Steve Webb said: “It is a tremendous achievement for Soundsec. These awards are a recognition of the best work carried out across the whole of the UK security industry. To be announced as a finalist in one category is excellent but to be announced as a finalist in two categories really shows the commitment professionalism our staff bring with them to the workplace.”

Praise for considerate member of Ocean's Portsmouth team

An anonymous member of Ocean Contract Cleaning’s Portsmouth team has been praised for the ‘great’ customer care they provided to a local sports group.

At a recent gathering of the Portsmouth Triathlete Club at the city’s Eastney Beach a member of Ocean’s staff went out of his way to make sure the Club’s members had access to the nearby public toilets, even altering his work schedule to accommodate them.
 
As the current cleaning contractor for Portsmouth City Council one of Ocean’s responsibilities is to make sure public conveniences are locked up for the night at the end of each cleaning shift. On this occasion however the staff member offered to change his schedule to lock the Eastney Beach toilets later so the Club members could continue enjoying their evening.
 
In a letter to Ocean’s Area Manager for Portsmouth Kevin Oastler, Portsmouth Triathlete Club chairman Nigel Selley wrote: “I’d like to report some great customer care from an employee.
 
“Around 50 people from the Triathlete Club  met for some swim/run training and afterwards a BBQ get-together.
 
A person from [Ocean Contract Cleaning] was due to lock the public toilets at 8pm. I didn’t catch his name. However, he could see that we were not quite ready to leave and so he would change his schedule and come back later. He asked how long we’d be and was happy to work around us.
 
“I can commend this person for the use of initiative and thoughtfulness. His actions were much appreciated by the people there.”