A line-up of Workplace Visits has been put together for the afternoon of Wednesday 20th June to provide interesting and relevant excursions for participants. The options include a visit to Durham Cathedral including the Works Yard and the Joinery.

Please book early for your preferred Visit, because many of the group sizes are small and will book up quickly. Note that places are allocated on a first come, first served basis. Visits are subject to change through circumstances beyond the control of the Conference and requesting a place on a Visit is no guarantee of final allocation. At the latest, delegates will be informed of their allocation of Visit within their Registration materials at the Conference.

Durham Cathedral

Durham Cathedral is part of a world heritage site. You will visit the Stonemasons’ Yard and Joinery Workshop then climb over 150 stone steps  up the West Tower to the trifolium level and into the roof space to better understand the hazards of working at heights, in confined conditions with significant respiratory hazards. There should also be the opportunity to soak up the peace and tranquillity of the Cathedral's nave and St Cuthbert's and Bede's resting places. Fitness and Flat shoes required!

Greggs Bakery

Greggs is the largest baker in the UK with over 20,000 employees, 10 manufacturing sites and over 1,500 shops.   The company prides itself in its products and its staff welfare.    Many employees have worked with Greggs all their working lives and staff turnover is very low. The Gosforth bakery moved to a new site in 2011.   The main potential hazards are noise, dust (flour), manual handling and dermatological.

GSK virtual tour

The GSK Barnard Castle site has 100 employees manufacturing and packing steriles and inhalations, topicals, and cephalosporins. A range of formulations including syringes, vials, nasal sprays, pumps, tubes, tablets, capsules and bulk granules are prepared.  The session will comprise a video-based virtual tour of the plant and discussion around sensitisation, musculoskeletal problems and mental health/resilience.

Jennings Foundry

Established in 1928 Jennings Foundry in Sunderland has over 75 years of technical excellence in the production of castings. They are suppliers to customers in the Aerospace, Cryogenic, Defence, Offshore Industries and General Engineering Industries. Included amongst  valued customers are Saudi-Aramco, Rolls Royce Industries, GE Medical, BAE System and Corus. 

Proctor and Gamble

Procter & Gamble Newcastle Innovation Centre is an R&D centre in which approximately 400 people work, ¾ of whom are employees of Procter & Gamble.  The site specialises into developing consumer products in laundry and auto dish washing for the world.  The working environment consists primarily of labs and some plant facilities, as well as the normal office environment.  Hazards on site include the normal electrical and mechanical ones you would expect in this sort of facility, as well as a number of chemistry based hazards, including enzyme handling. The visit will comprise of a tour of the facilities and a discussion on associated hazards, together with an overview of our proactive approach to the wellbeing of our employees.

Renolit Ltd

RENOLIT Cramlington manufactures and distributes PVC veneers for use primarily in the manufacture of kitchen and bedroom furniture.  It is owned by RENOLIT SE, a German company which is an international leader in the manufacture of high quality plastic films and other products. The Group employs around 2,500 people with 245 of these at Cramlington. Their average length of service is 19 years.   The main OH activities relate to skin, respiratory, audiometry and HAVS surveillance programmes, driving and FLT medicals, and employee wellbeing.

Sage building

A tour of the Sage Building looking at the structure, workings and behind the scenes activities.  Key issues include manual handling, noise control, and ventilation and infection control in public buildings.