Charity
The directors and employees of Brown McFarlane are determined to ensure the commitment and energy which makes the company a success is also channelled to help those in a less fortunate position.
The Group is proud of its association with Stoke-on-Trent and so it has chosen to adopt a local charity, The Donna Louise Children’s Hospice Trust, which it supports with an ongoing programme of fundraising schemes. The charities team at Brown McFarlane is encouraged to think of ways to help and as a result money is raised in many innovative ways.
The Donna Louise Children’s Hospice Trust provides a range of specialist care and support services for children with a shortened life expectancy and their families. Services may be provided in the family home or the hospice, a purpose built house in Stoke-on-Trent called “Treetops”, or a combination of both depending on the family’s and child’s preference. Care staff are trained and qualified, and include: children’s nurses, learning disabilities nurses (with experience of working with children), family support staff, play & music specialists and counsellors.
The range of care and support services is listed to the right.
Running a children’s hospice service is a considerable undertaking but it is one that is urgently needed. The Trust is confident that with the continued support of the general public it can continue to help even more life threatened children and their families in the future.
Brown McFarlane is proud to be a supporter of the Donna Louise Children’s Hospice Trust and Douglas Macmillan Hospice.
- Day care in the family home or hospice, or both
- Overnight stays at Treetops
- Community support
- 24 hour telephone support and advice
- Counselling and emotional support
- Specialist play and music activities
- Sibling activities and support.
- Regular Youth Club activities
- Parents and Carers Support Group
- End of life care in the family home or the hospice depending on family preference
Health & Safety
Brown McFarlane takes health and safety very seriously, ensuring that its employees work in a safe and healthy environment and Brown McFarlane is committed to a rigorous and comprehensive health and safety business management system. The company is proud to have been awarded certification for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems to ISO 45001 and is committed to annual audits from third party inspectors to keep this certification.
Brown McFarlane’s latest assessment score in excess of 96% has been recognised by its external assessors as the highest in its industrial sector and its systems and their implementation are held up as examples for others to follow.
The management system concentrates on a number of key areas:
• Proactive approach to health and safety through preventative action and training of employees.
• Accidents – reduce number of accidents year by year.
• Suppliers and sub-contractors – grant preferred supplier status to those demonstrating a commitment to health and safety
We are determined that our business units should offer the safest and healthiest working environment possible for every employee and all of our visitors and suppliers.
Environment
Brown McFarlane was one of the first steel distributors in Europe to be awarded ISO 14001 certification for its environmental management system which seeks to lessen the impact of the business on the environment and to actively work to improve it. The company undergoes an annual inspection by external auditors to ensure that standards are maintained and the certification is “ retained. We have found that investing the time to ensure our systems comply with ISO 14001 has also provided very direct benefits to our organisation.
The current environmental management system is focussed on two key objectives, save energy and continual improvement and training.
For the benefit of all stakeholders in the business and the wider community Brown McFarlane is committed to making all of its business units as environmentally friendly as possible.