Major organisations in the construction, utilities and the public sector may need to adopt a more robust view of their existing health and safety policies and procedures when they or their contractors hire plant and equipment.

All large organisations have detailed policies and procedures for contractors and sub-contractors working on their sites but in some cases, these documents do not cover the hire of plant and equipment explicitly, according to Hewden, the UK's largest plant hire company.

This lack of focus can lead to companies inadvertently allowing plant and equipment on to their sites that has not been checked thoroughly for health and safety, environmental or quality issues and performance. This applies in particular to the fuel efficiency of and emissions from older plant, as some hire companies, feeling the economic squeeze, may retain equipment longer and perhaps even compromise on preventative maintenance schedules.

Tom Corrigan, Hewden head of safety commented:

"Every large organisation places health and safety as a very high priority on its agenda and, as a supplier, we make every effort to meet the leading, independently-audited standards and accreditation schemes which assess against industry best practice.

We sometimes find, for example, that risk assessments do not always state clearly that any hire equipment must be sourced from a company with a valid health and safety accreditation and which is audited by a recognised and independent external agency.

"Although it may appear to be a small oversight, probably assuming hired plant is rarely on site for long, it could lead to an accident that destroys a company's prized health and safety record.

"We are raising awareness of this issue with customers because the current economic conditions are affecting everyone in the plant supply industry and, for some players, there may be the temptation to cut service costs and turnaround plant hire quickly, with consequential risks on site."

The warning comes as Hewden announced that it had achieved outstanding marks in the latest health & safety, quality and environmental audit by Achilles, the leading global provider of services for sustainable procurement.

Achilles works to identify, quantify, evaluate and monitor suppliers for over 550 of the world's largest organisations in construction, oil and gas, utilities and the public sector. Organisations that use Achilles' services to vet suppliers include the National Grid, Bovis Lend Lease, Network Rail, Shell and BP. Many major construction contractors working for these organisations also seek Achilles accreditation.

Hewden's marks exceeded industry averages by a range of 14.5% to 25.4% across the assessed areas.

• In health and safety, Hewden scored 95.6% for its management systems and 96.0% on its site visit, against industry averages of 80.2% and 81.5% respectively.
• In environment, Hewden's score of 92.2% for its management systems and 93.6% in the onsite assessment is far above the industry averages of 66.8% and 70.5% respectively.
• For quality, Hewden scored 95.8% (industry average 77.3%) for its management systems and a staggering 100% (industry average 82.9%) on its site visit.

Jim Gray, head of HSEQ for Finning Group (UK), parent company of Hewden Stuart, said: "We are delighted with the results of the Achilles audit. The assessment categories are core values for Hewden and are increasingly important to existing and prospective customers."