Waco places a strong emphasis on health and safety, particularly in the FSS business, with the risks of working at heights being a prime focus area. Primary responsibility for such matters lies with Waco's individual business units. All Waco companies, at a minimum, meet local regulations but higher overall standards are established by the Waco Health and Safety Peer Group. Management believes that Waco's market leading position in scaffolding reflects the safety standards in place and Waco's compliance therewith.

The Waco Health and Safety Peer Group, established in 2002, has a set of goals which include:

1. maintain common health and safety standards and reporting procedures at all Waco companies;
2. when a serious incident occurs its implications are communicated rapidly up the management chain and across the Peer Group;
3. best practices in health and safety are highlighted and shared across the Peer Group.

At Waco, a report covering relevant health and safety statistics including the frequency rate for lost time injuries across the whole company and other key issues, is produced on a quarterly basis. Frequency rates are calculated for all recorded accidents and by cause of the accident. The most common causes of accidents are "falls and slips" followed by "manual handling".

Regulatory restrictions

Australasia

Waco complies with the Australian Standards series AS/NZS 1576 (Scaffolding) and AS/NZS 4576:1995 (Guidelines for Scaffolding). These standards govern the design and operational requirements for scaffolding and cover, inter alia, the supply, erection, alteration, dismantling, maintenance and use of scaffolding equipment.

In New Zealand, the scaffolding industry is regulated by the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992. The industry also complies with the Approved Code of Practice (1995), Best Practice Guidelines for Scaffolding in New Zealand and AS/NZS 1576 which is a joint Australian/New Zealand Standard.

The building industry in Australia is controlled through a combination of local council, state government and national acts, regulations, codes and standards. Together, this web of rules and regulations establishes the legal framework for the regulation of the construction of buildings, building standards and the maintenance of specific building safety features. Ausco has developed a system of design, architectural and assembly standards that comply with these rules and regulations, and with the help of its local design teams, are consistently applied to specific customer applications.

South Africa
The design and use of formwork in South Africa is governed by the British Standard BS5975 of the 1996 "Code of Practice Falsework", whereas the access scaffolding industry in South Africa is controlled by the SANS 10085 Code of Practice. This Code of Practice governs the design, use and inspection of access scaffold. Waco's recently acquired insulation, shot sandblasting and spray painting operations operate in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993 (the "OH&S Act"), which governs all health and safety requirements in South Africa. Waco Africa is also an accredited asbestos removal company approved by the Department of Labour. Its asbestos removal activities are also governed by the OH&S Act.

United Kingdom

The markets in which Waco UK operates are regulated by a combination of governmental and local authority regulations governing building and construction standards and the environment, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act 85 of 1993. Waco UK conducts regular site and factory audits using in-house expertise and third party experts to ensure compliance with these regulations and the use of best practices.

Environmental policy
Waco believes that its operations do not pose any serious threat to the environment. Our companies have developed their own policies to meet their local legislative requirements.