Supporting a Growing Tech-Refurbishment Company Through Rapid Change
Background
A rapidly expanding technology-recycling company, specialising in the refurbishment and secure processing of laptops and other IT equipment, approached FM Partnership during a period of significant operational change. With new service lines being developed and workload increasing, the business recognised that its health and safety foundations needed to be strengthened to support sustainable growth.
At the same time, a new Health and Safety Manager had been appointed. Although highly capable, he quickly identified that the volume and complexity of the work required could overwhelm a single internal hire. Having heard positive industry feedback and previous success stories, he reached out to FM Partnership for additional expert support.
Challenges
The business faced several pressing challenges:
- A lack of a cohesive health and safety management system that could support a growing and diversifying operation.
- Major gaps in documentation, including missing or outdated risk assessments and safe systems of work.
- The need for independent inspections, particularly as new equipment and processes were introduced.
- Concerns from leadership that the scale of the task might discourage their newly appointed manager.
- A developing safety culture that needed structure and ongoing visibility.
The client needed a partner who could stabilise the situation quickly without undermining the confidence or role of the incoming manager.
FM Partnership’s Approach
FM Partnership worked collaboratively with the organisation and its new Health and Safety Manager to build confidence, structure, and capability.
1. Establishing a Robust Health & Safety System
We began by mapping out all health and safety requirements across the business, then designing a comprehensive system tailored to the company’s operations, legal duties, and ambitions for growth. This included policy development, procedural frameworks, and structured documentation.
2. Completing Essential Risk Assessments
As the business expanded into new service areas, FM Partnership ensured that clear, practical, and legally compliant risk assessments were completed. These were prioritised around high-risk activities, site layout changes, and evolving client demands.
3. Conducting Independent Site Inspections
Regular inspections were carried out to provide objective insight, identify blind spots, and support continuous improvement. Each report was action-focused and used as a developmental tool for the internal manager, not a criticism.
4. Upskilling and Supporting the Incoming Manager
Rather than replacing the internal manager’s role, FM Partnership acted as an extension of his capacity—providing guidance, templates, coaching, and reassurance. Together, we built processes that he could confidently take ownership of as the business matured.
Results
Over time, the business underwent a significant transformation:
- Health and safety became structured, manageable, and consistent.
- The internal manager gained the confidence and capability to lead the system independently.
- Safety standards elevated across all departments, even as the company expanded its service offering.
- Inspections and assessments were streamlined, reducing risk and improving overall efficiency.
- The leadership team gained assurance that compliance and safety performance were under control.
Eventually, the in-house manager reached the point where external support was no longer needed, and this is exactly the outcome FM Partnership strives for.
We don’t aim to create dependency. We aim to build confident, capable internal teams who can run sustainable safety systems on their own.
Conclusion
This project demonstrates the core of FM Partnership’s ethos: Safety Simplified. The client’s journey, from feeling overwhelmed to running a confident, self-sufficient health and safety function, is the ideal outcome.
Our role is to help businesses grow safely, strengthen their culture, and ultimately empower them so effectively that they no longer require our involvement.