Caddick has appointed James Eastham as Head of Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) in a role that will boost the business’ investment in safety, environmental performance and employee wellbeing.
James joins Caddick from Sir Robert McAlpine where he headed up health, safety and wellbeing in the North for three years, becoming Head of Health, Safety and Wellbeing in May 2023.
James will be based from Caddick’s North West premises in Warrington with a remit across Caddick Construction Group’s North and Midlands regions as well as the health and safety performance of Caddick Civil Engineering and the Group’s facade specialist, CCL Facades.
With 17 years in the construction industry, James began his career as an apprentice joiner for Eric Wright Construction, where he spent 10 years, initially as a joiner and moving over to health and safety in 2013.
James later moved to Mace in 2018, becoming Health, Safety and Wellbeing Manager in London, working for the major projects division overseeing developments that included Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
As Head of SHEQ for Caddick, James will be responsible for all health and safety functions and taking them forward as the business continues to grow across the North West, North East, Yorkshire and Midlands.
The role will see James prioritise the business’ environmental performance as part of its commitment to reduce carbon usage by 5% year-on-year and achieve Net Zero Carbon by 2050.
James’ role will also include an emphasis on wellbeing, and will see Caddick work proactively to address the challenges around mental health in construction and increase support for employees and those working in the supply chain.
Of his appointment, James commented: “Caddick is really bucking the trend as a strong, stable and growing contractor, sitting on the fence between tier 1 and tier 2. What this means is the business can be agile as it grows, but also operate with the strength and capability of tier 1.
“As we grow, our work will become bigger and more exciting, and as we deliver this we need to focus on retaining quality as the business scales. That doesn’t mean over complicating our processes; we’ll keep things simple, but make sure we do high quality work, keeping everyone safe and well while minimising our impact on the planet.”
Paul Dodsworth, Group Managing Director of Caddick Construction Group, added: “We’ve had a very exciting two years as we’ve maintained a steady path of growth. Growing sustainably is the only way to preserve our standards in quality and safety, and this is something we’re proud to have protected as we’ve expanded into new regions and taken on some very ambitious and high profile projects. Welcoming James to the team will see an even greater focus on safety but also boost our commitment to quality, our environmental performance and the wellbeing of our people.”
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