Safety isn’t just about ticking boxes at Eastgate, it’s about people. We aim to create and sustain a culture where every individual feels responsible, supported, and empowered to work safely.
That’s why safety is an uncompromised key value at Eastgate. Our team, clients and the larger environment are a top concern for us when engaging in any project. Eastgate’s culture is centred around this value, with ongoing investment in training, risk prevention, and stringent protocols. Our priority has and will always be the protection of lives and ensuring that our works rise to the highest standards of safety.
“For me, safety is not just about procedures or paperwork. It’s about creating the right environment so that everyone goes home safe, every day, while working smarter and more efficiently together,” says Jamie Stephenson, HSEQ Manager.
As we move into 2026, we wanted to look back over the past year, across all our sites, and take a dive into how we have continued to raise standards and strengthen trust, to ensure that safety remains at the heart of everything we do.
Supporting Mental Health
Safety at Eastgate goes beyond physical well-being. We recognise that mental health is just as important as physical safety and have implemented Mental Health First Aiders across our sites and offices to offer support should our team need it.
Our Mental Health First Aiders are helping to create an open and supportive workplace, one where conversations about wellbeing are encouraged and taken seriously.
As part of our mental health campaign, we integrated some mental health presentations into our toolbox talks. These short, focused sessions helped our teams to identify both internal and external support resources and sparked meaningful conversations.
With the help of Andy’s Man Club, we also distributed wellbeing kits, including:
- Handouts with key internal contacts and external helpline numbers.
- Light-hearted stress relief tools such a pens and stress balls.
- A reminder that nobody at Eastgate is alone when it comes to mental health.
Our aim with this campaign is to reinforce a workplace culture where people feel safe, supported and heard. We believe that taking care of our people’s mental health is just as important as taking care of our projects.
The Safe Start Initiative
As part of our Safe Start Initiative, our team at Dogger Bank has been exploring innovative ways to improve on-site awareness and response readiness.
- A Defibrillator Awareness Workshop a led by HSE Lead, Michael Taylor, built confidence and readiness around using defibrillators during emergencies.
- Jack Branthwaite hosted a virtual reality session simulating dropped object risks, helping teams identify hazards in a safe, immersive environment.
- Our HSE team developed and tested a new tower evacuation drill external rescue method using rope access, ensuring safe evacuation from height if ever required.
- Despite space limitations, our team completed a full rescue exercise in the nacelle within 13 minutes of the call, a powerful demonstration of skill, coordination, and calm under pressure.
These exercises don’t just test our capabilities; they strengthen our attentiveness, build confidence, and reinforce our commitment to safety excellence.
Celebrating Success
We’re proud to share that this year, Eastgate has won the Black & Veatch Contractor Performance League at the Lostock Sustainable Energy Plant over five consecutive occasions. This achievement is a testament to our teams’ unwavering dedication to maintaining safe, high-performing worksites.
To celebrate, Eastgate was able to donate £1,000 gifted by Black & Veatch to Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), a charity that provides life-saving screenings, family support, and research into inherited heart conditions.
Strengthening Training and Equipment
As part of our ongoing commitment to safety, we’ve introduced mandatory training courses at our site in Lostock. These sessions ensure all teams are equipped with the knowledge and best practices to mitigate risk and keep everyone safe.
We’ve also added a new Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to the BESS site, improving emergency coverage across the facility. When used promptly, AEDs can raise survival rates to up to 70%, but their value goes beyond that. Their presence is a daily reminder of our proactive approach to health and safety.
Safety at Eastgate involves everyone. Each project, site and team member plays a role in our safety culture. From mental health support to hands-on training, we are continuously raising our standards. These safety initiatives reflect not just compliance, but care and collaboration across Eastgate. We are constantly implementing new initiatives and reflecting on how we can become a safer place to work. At Eastgate, safety is not just a standard, but a part of our culture and core values.
