News

#TimetoTalk2021

With the suicide rate within the Construction & related industries being 3.7 times greater than the national average, Rainham have been proud members of the ‘Mates in Mind’ campaign since 2019.   As such we are proud to participate in and support the Time to Talk Day 2021

This Thursday, February 4^th marks Time to Talk Day, a day in which we celebrate small conversations about Mental Health, which have the power to make a big difference.

This year’s focus is on the power of small, because however you have a conversation about Mental Health – whether it’s a quick text to a friend, a virtual coffee morning with colleagues, or a socially distanced walk and talk with your family – it has the power to make a huge difference.

Thursday is a day to encourage small conversations, and for everyone to start talking.  The more conversations we can have the more barriers we can break down and myths we can bust.  It is safe to say that Covid-19 has had a significant effect on everybody’s Mental health – which is why this year, we are giving the campaign a push across all of our sites and office locations.

Top tips for starting a conversation are:

1. Ask Questions and listen – Try to ask questions that are open and not leading or judgmental – such as “how does that affect you” or “what does that feel like?”.
2. Consider the time & place – sometimes it is easier to talk side to side rather than face to face.  So, if you do talk in person, you might want to chat while you are doing something else, like making tea / coffee in the break room.
3. Don’t try and fix everything – It can be hard to see someone you care about having a difficult time but try to resist the urge to offer quick fixes to what they’re going through, learning to manage or recover from a Mental Health problem can be a long journey, and they’ve likely considered lots of different tools and strategies.  Just talking can be really powerful, so unless they’ve asked for advice directly, it might be best just to listen.
4. Be Patient – No matter how hard you try, some people might not be ready to talk about what they’re going through.  That’s OK – the fact that you’ve tried to talk to them about it might make it easier for them to open up another time.

For more information on Mates and Minds, and what they do – please visit their website www.matesinmind.org or call them directly on 020 3510 5018. 

The 2020 ROSPA Gold medal award marks our 4^th Gold consecutive medal. It is testimony to the consistent standards of health and safety that the company demonstrates in a challenging industrial environment. Health and Safety is engrained in our culture and is of the highest priority to ensure the protection of our workers and others who may be affected by our activities. The award is based on evidence that confirms that we not only talk about health and safety, we put it into practice. 

Tim McCarthy, Rainham CEO commented: ‘Health and Safety is indeed engrained in our culture but I wish it to be acknowledged that it is the fabulous work of our Health and Safety Division which fosters and sustains this culture through hard work, dedication and an absolute belief in what they do and why they do it.’

After a long association with Help for Heroes it was time to refresh our support and fund raising activities with the appointment of a new Charity of the Year 2020. It was through the pursuit of all things West Ham United within our Head Office that the charity DT38 first came to prominence, in particular we were introduced to a lady by the name of Tracy Tombides who, after the loss of her son Dylan to testicular cancer, formed DT38 in his name with the sole aim of avoiding preventable deaths through the spread of information and self-awareness surrounding the condition. Unfortunately the launch of our association has coincided with a huge down turn in fund raising events due to the Global Pandemic that has resulted from COVID19 and DT38 like many other charities has suffered enormously. On April 18^th – six years to the day since Dylan Tombides left us – the Foundation launched the 3.80 Funding Appeal to reduce the impact on the charity caused by Covid-19.

Through the 3.80 Funding Appeal, we are asking if you can help DT38 and men and boys everywhere by making a donation of £3.80. Rainham has ‘kicked off’ with a suitably fitting multiple of 3.80 being donated.

You can donate now here:

UK & Rest of World: https://virginmoneygiving.com/fund/dt38fundingappeal

Rainham has had long standing working relationships along the South Wales corridor, supplying, access, insulation and asbestos removal works to a variety of clients in the area since 2005. These have almost exclusively been discreet and larger scale projects where teams have been mobilised from outside the region and have involved a remote management team. With the huge growth in mechanical services and organic expansion across all delivered services the need arose to create a new regional home base.

The location of Newport was chosen in recognition of an existing customer base and the ease of access from Newport to cover South Wales and South West England offered by the M4 and M5 motorways. In 2019 Phil Thomas, with whom the company had worked previously at Aberthaw and Didcot, was appointed Regional Manager and set about recruiting local resources in South Wales, Avon, Devon and Cornwall. Phil has been joined by Craig Vrettos and Neil Young in Mechanical Operations with Craig Elshaw and Gareth Hopkins providing SIP Operations. A big Rainham welcome to everyone in Newport and beyond.

One of Phil’s first steps in supporting the wider community has been to sponsor a local Rugby Club Nantgaredig RFC, we hope to keep you informed of their progress in National Division 2 West when play is able to resume after COVID19. https://nantgaredig.clwbrygbi.cymru

I wanted to update everyone on the current position in regard to Covid19 and its effect on our business.

Whilst a small number of staff having shown early symptoms have followed the self-isolation guidelines issued by UK GOV, I am pleased to report that there have been no confirmed Corona Virus cases among our workforce. Approximately 75% of our operational employees continue to work to a full-time pattern supporting every client whose sites and plants remain open and functioning. We have also received requests for assistance from outside our existing client base and we have done everything we possibly can to provide service. The well being of everyone carries absolute priority and we are utilising our rigid systems of safe working as well as enhanced occupational health measures.

We have already acknowledged our massive appreciation to the NHS and all Key Workers who are doing their utmost to keep us all safe, cared for, fed and watered and we continue to be eternally grateful for their support.

Through this message I want to make mention of our own employees who’s continued efforts are allowing Rainham to carry on providing each of our services across the United Kingdom. Our clients messages of thanks and support have been earned not by me and my fellow directors but by you – our scaffolders, laggers, fitters, welders, cleaners, painters, labourers, supervisors and managers. You are working in anything but normal conditions with far greater than normal restrictions placed upon your movements and how you are able to interact with your co-workers. All this is in addition to having, like the rest of the country, to manage social distancing protocols and keep families, safe, well, educated and entertained.

There are others whose work has been disrupted or postponed but who continue to support Rainham totally, I want to thank each and every one of you. Together we will get through this and things will return to normal.

The strategic aim of The Parliamentary Review is to raise standards. In each edition, a host of outstanding organisations share their experiences and areas of best practice, all the while identifying key issues they face in the current political and economic environment. The Review features a foreword by the prime minister and is sent to over 500,000 leading business executives and policymakers.

Rainham Industrial Services Ltd features in the 2019 Review where CEO Tim McCarthy provides a greater insight into the company’s history and unique manner of operating.

Rainham Industrial Services’ article can be viewed here: