Jones Bros mock trials shine a light on its health and safety procedures20th Mar 2025

Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK has put its health and safety (HSE) initiatives under the spotlight by staging two prosecution mock incident trials.

More than 150 of the firm’s employees participated in the intensive sessions which were enacted by two serving barristers from DAC Beachcroft and volunteer judges Mike Jones, Jones Bros head of new business, and Edward Evans, Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Wales director and secretary.

Jones Bros head of business management support Tony Murphy acted as the defendant, whilst colleagues Mike Jolley, senior health, safety and environment manager, and business improvement manager Jonathan Dennehy played witnesses.

Responsible for supervising HSEQ activities on site, staff who attended the events operate in ‘black hat’ construction roles, including engineers, site agents, sub agents, project managers, senior works managers, works managers, foremen, and gangers.

The experiences replicated how a cable strike incident court case would transpire, demonstrating the consequences of failing to comply with Jones Bros policies and reinforcing how each supervisor impacts efficiency, team wellbeing, and reputation.

Several Jones Bros clients and supply chain partners were also present to participate in the mock trial.

Tony said: “Feedback from the sessions was great, and I believe the realism of the trial emphasised the importance of always complying with HSE procedures.

“Having the time to discuss and reflect was invaluable as it gave our teams the opportunity to focus on best practices before heading back to our UK-wide projects.”

The trials were followed by four one-week-long training courses, aimed at further enhancing the critical leadership skills of black hat supervisors.

The programme included a comprehensive overview of the firm’s business management systems, which consists of, health, safety, environmental, and quality compliance guidelines, with the whole course including areas of leadership and people management training.

The scheme also forms part of Jones Bros’ ‘Together Safer’ initiative in which members of staff are encouraged to place people at the heart of operations not just out of obligation, but genuine care for all colleagues.

Tony said: “We are committed to implementing good health and safety practices, so the programme has helped our employees truly understand why we follow certain procedures and how vital they are to safeguard our teams.

“Our aim is that everyone returns home from every shift unharmed, feels confident they can rely on their colleagues to adhere to the correct HSE measures, and that we see less incidents on site.

“I also hope the training and trials will continue to strengthen our excellent safety record, exemplified in developments such as North Kyle Wind Farm, which achieved 500,000 hours without a lost time incident (LTI).”

Established in the 1950s, Jones Bros owns one of the largest plant fleets in the UK and employs approximately 500 people.

The company is currently working on contracts in various sectors including highways, flood and marine defence, waste management and renewable energy around the UK.

The company continues to run apprenticeships with many of its senior managers having started out as apprentices or in a trainee role. It has recruited hundreds of apprentices over the years.