PDS RECEIVE SAFECONTRACTOR ACCREDITATION

PDS receive Safecontractor accreditation

Iain Bland, Managing Director of PDS stated “We have always paid particular importance to our Health & Safety practices. Zero accidents since 2005 is testament to this; however we needed to ensure that we were accredited to a leading scheme that all others follow and this is why we sought accreditation with Safe Contractor”

Safecontractor accreditation will enhance the company’s ability to attract new contracts and its commitment to safety will be viewed positively by its insurers when the company liability policy is up for renewal.

Safecontractor is applicable to most sectors although it is particularly relevant to food manufacture, property, facilities management, retail and leisure sectors, all of which are big users of contracted services.

John Kinge, technical director of Safecontractor said, “Major organisations simply cannot afford to run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound health and safety policies in place.”

“More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that Paragon Data Services has done. The firm’s high standard has set an example which hopefully will be followed by other companies within the sector.

Safecontractor plays a vital role in supporting our clients in meeting their compliance needs, whilst working with their contractors as they progress through the accreditation process.”

Under the Safecontractor scheme, businesses undergo a vetting process which examines health and safety procedures and their track record for safe practice. Those companies meeting the high standard are included on a database, which is accessible to registered users only via a website.

Client-organisations who sign up to the scheme can access the database, enabling them to vet potential contractors before they even set foot on site. These clients agree that, as users of the scheme, they will engage only those who have received accreditation.

Over 210 major, nation-wide businesses, from several key sectors, have signed up to use the scheme when selecting contractors for services such as building, cleaning, maintenance, refurbishment or electrical and mechanical work.

PDS receive CHAS Accreditation

We’re excited to announce that we have been awarded CHAS Accreditation.

CHAS is the Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme and highlights to our customers that we meet required standards.

Iain Bland, Managing Director of PDS said: “Receiving this accreditation reflects our ongoing commitment to health and safety; we focus highly on creating a safe working environment for our team and clients. We believe strongly in the work and aims of CHAS and are proud to have received this accreditation.”

What is CHAS?

In 1997 a group of health and safety and procurement professionals across Great Britain worked with the Association of London Government (ALG) to develop CHAS. In 2001 CHAS became a web-based system.

CHAS started with two main aims.

● To improve health and safety standards across Great Britain.
● To reduce duplicated safety applications for both suppliers and buyers.

Data cabling firm appointed for 200k contract to fit out new school

A HULL data cabling company has beaten off national competition and been awarded a £200,000 contract to create a 21st Century learning environment at one of the city’s most prestigious schools.

Paragon Data Services (PDS) will install the comprehensive data network across the new eight-storey home of Hull Trinity House Academy in George Street, city centre.

The contract comes as part of a £10m redevelopment of the school under the city’s flagship Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

Iain Bland, PDS’s managing director, said: “We’ve already had a fantastic start to 2013 and this has made it even better – we’re really pleased to be involved in a project such as BSF.

“We’ve worked on several other schemes as part of this project but are very happy to working with Houlton at Hull Trinity House – we will build a comprehensive LAN network which is at the cutting edge of design, is user friendly and is future proof.

“The academy has a proud heritage of achievement and we will be working with that ethos in mind when we install this network which will help teachers and students alike.”

PDS will install a new Category 6 cabling system along with a Cisco gigabit managed network including wireless & Unified communications across the eight floors of the former University of Lincoln building which will bring all the academy’s IT under one, user-friendly interface.

PDS will also be responsible for installing the public address systems and also the infrastructure to accommodate cashless catering, cashless vending machines, access and entry points and CCTV.

Mr Bland said: “This is a total network solution for the academy which means everything will be managed under one system, from email through to internet access in classrooms though to the safe and secure administration of dinner money and all other matters within the school – it will be entirely fit for 21st Century teaching and learning.”

PDS’s designers have been working closely with representatives from the school, Hull City Council’s BSF team, staff from Hull Esteem Consortium – which is the company chosen by the council to build 19 new schools under the scheme – and the national academy advisory body, the School Partnership Trust Academies (SPTA).

PDS, which has its headquarters at the Geneva Way Business Park in Leads Road, east Hull, has signed the contract and will complete the work in less than three months ahead of the school opening in September.

Mr Bland said: “Hull is a great place to be running a business at the moment. There have been a few tough years for many people and businesses but 2013 is already looking like a great year for us and for others.

“We’re proud to be from the city and although we now have contacts across the UK and as far away as China, it is always nice to be able to work on projects in your home town.”
Hull Trinity House Academy is being built by Hull-based construction firm Houlton, which has been awarded the multi-million pound contract by the Hull Esteem Consortium.

James Townend, project manager for Houlton, said: “PDS has a fantastic reputation both locally and nationally and we are pleased to be able to appoint them to this job.

“We made a commitment, as everyone did as part of the BSF programme, to use local labour and companies wherever possible and here we see that commitment in practice.

“PDS is a fantastic partner for us and the school will benefit a great deal from the company’s expertise and understanding of their needs. PDS has worked extremely closely with all partners working closely with the school across every element of this project will prove to have been key in creating excellent opportunities for hundreds of students in the years to come.”

PDS provides its services across Yorkshire and as far afield as Europe and Asia. The company specialises in installing structured network and data cabling solutions and provides services to install new public address systems, CCTV, door access and audio visual solutions for a broad range of applications.

PDS’ managing director shortlisted 

The managing director of a Hull-based data cabling company has been listed as one of Yorkshire’s most dynamic entrepreneurs.

Iain Bland, from Paragon Data Services (PDS), has been named as one of Insider Media’s 42 under 42.

The annual 42 under 42 recognises some of Yorkshire and the Humber’s most dynamic and inspirational young entrepreneurs and celebrates their contribution to the regional economy.

Iain said: “It’s great to be recognised in this category, it’s quite an illustrious list of people and a proud achievement.

“It’s great to get some recognition for what we are doing, and it may be me who has made the shortlist but ultimately this is testament to the hard work and dedication of all our staff.”

Iain is the only person from East Yorkshire to be listed in the latest edition of the magazine, which includes senior individuals from recruitment agencies, hairdressers, digital agencies and chartered surveyors.

The magazine, which is available across the Yorkshire region, states: “This year, once again, some superb individuals have made the list.

Our prestigious club has featured some of the region’s most successful business people over the past 15 years, with many going on to become starts of the industry.”

The Yorkshire 42 under 42 Dinner 2013 will be held at the Royal Armouries Hall, Leeds on Wednesday, April 17.

We are recruiting

As we continue to go from strength to strength we are looking to add someone to our growing team, if you are interested in joining a fast paced company then why not take a look at our current vacancy, http://www.paragondataservices.co.uk/work-with-us

City of Culture

We’ve always been Passionate about Hull and now we have even more reasons to be….City of Culture 2017

We’ve moved

The New Year starts with a move to new premises, and we couldn’t be more excited about the future……..Thriving PDS invests in new home

Keep on Movembering is a great success

In December, leading infrastructure and AV solutions company, Paragon Data Services, asked men across the East Riding who took part in the 2011 national Movember challenge, to continue their efforts for an additional month.

Paragon Data Services took the opportunity to extend the efforts of Movember to benefit other charities. Participating men were asked to keep the razors at bay for a few more weeks until the end of December 2011.

Movember requires men to grow facial hair, usually in a style they would not usually choose, to raise awareness of men’s health conditions, particularly prostate cancer. Many participants ask for sponsorship to donate to The Prostate Cancer Charity and The Institute of Cancer Research.

Iain Bland, managing director at Paragon Data Services, who also joined in the challenge, set a £500 prize fund to be awarded to the man sporting the best moustache, to be donated to a charity of his choice. An additional £250 will also be donated to the Smile Foundation, the charity PDS has worked closely with to raise funds.

Iain Bland said, “Last year’s Movember was such huge success, with massive involvement from men everywhere. I am delighted with the amount of men in the area who chose to continue the challenge into December in order to raise money for their chosen charity.

“I would like to say congratulations to the Blue Watch at Bridlington Fire Station who put in a fantastic effort to continue growing their moustaches into the Christmas period. Their dedication to the cause is impressive, and it is for this reason that I can announce them as the winners of the PDS ‘Keep on Movembering’ competition.”

Paul Jebson, firefighter, said “All the guys at Blue Watch were delighted to hear that we have been selected as the winners of the Paragon Data Service ‘Keep on Movembering’ competition. We originally decided to participate in the Movember challenge as a sign of solidarity and respect towards a colleague of ours who is suffering from stomach cancer. When we heard about Paragon Data Services’ plan to continue Movember into December, we thought it would be a great opportunity to raise money for another charity that is close to our heats, The Firefighter’s Charity.”

PDS director sails to The Azores as a birthday “treat”

One of the Paragon Data Services directors found out exactly what hard work really means on a recent adventure.

Knowing that Glen Davis’ birthday was coming up, managing director Iain Bland arranged for him to set sail on a 10-day challenge on-board the CatZero yacht.

CatZero is a registered charity designed to develop and deliver specialist programmes to meet the needs of children, young people, their families and the local community. When the yacht isn’t in use for its specialist programmes, members of the public can pay to take part in the sailing experience themselves.

While on board, Glen performed the role of a real member of crew. He carried out a four hour on, four hour off watch system for the full duration of the trip. His duties included everything from the preparation of meals and cleaning through to helming the vessel, navigation and engineering.

“When I was 19 I was sponsored by Holderness Rotary Society to sail on the Winston Churchill boat for two weeks. Ever since then I have always said I would like to go back and repeat the experience, CatZero certainly came close but it was much harder this time than when I was 19,” said Glen. “The team at PDS surprised me with the CatZero experience for my birthday and I was over the moon.”

The yacht was bound for The Azores, in the North Atlantic Ocean, when Glen set sail. “We really did get the full sailing experience,” he added. “We came across wind, rain, snow and hail – we even had to pull into Weymouth on the way back while the weather calmed down. It was fantastic, I had a brilliant time – I think if I’d told my wife how dangerous the conditions were at certain points during the journey, she would have told me to get off and come home though.”

It’s safe to say that Glen enjoyed his experience, but he’s pleased to be back in the comfort of the PDS headquarters in Hull doing his day job!

A local success story to really shout about!

Having enjoyed exponential growth over the last 12 months, Paragon Data Services (PDS) doesn’t intend to rest on its laurels.

Ambitious directors at the Hull-based network infrastructure and AV solutions firm now have their sights firmly set on driving the business forward even further in the coming year.
PDS is a true one stop shop for cutting-edge technologies, designed to ensure both local and national businesses have the technical capacity to run effectively.

Despite incredible growth figures at PDS, with an unprecedented 35% increase in profit in the last financial year and a 60% increase in staff levels, managing director Iain Bland says the company’s ethos remains the same no matter how large or small a contract might be.
Indeed, the company has appointed a dynamic executive in a bid to ensure customers enjoy a new found experience with the company. Responsible for day-to-day sales and customer service, a vast amount of PDS customers will undoubtedly deal directly with Helen Bennett and she is committed to ensuring the whole process, from the start of an order through to completion, runs smoothly. Mr Bland says Helen’s appointment is a key milestone for the award-winning firm.

He said: “We are 100% committed to ensuring customers receive the same service whether they are spending £50 with us or £500,000, hence our rationale behind Helen’s appointment which will ensure consistency across everything that we do when dealing with orders and guaranteeing a high level of quality for all customers.”

Helen added: “I am very excited about my role at PDS,” said Helen, who joins PDS with over 10 years’ experience in sales and customer service. “I will also be investigating new markets and overseeing aspects of the company’s marketing. There are some very exciting times ahead at PDS and customers won’t be disappointed by the innovative new approaches we are taking to providing top quality services.”

Helen’s appointment also coincides with another exciting new venture, which will see PDS acquire a new office in the South of England, dedicated to handling AV work in that part of the country. It comes after a surge in work within that division of the business over recent months and is testament to the fact that PDS also remains committed to servicing clients in exactly the same way, no matter which part of the country they are based in.

The directors at PDS say they are proud of the fact that in the last year they have taken on contracts as far afield as Poland yet ensured the customer has been just as satisfied with the finished product as they would have been if they were located right here in Hull.

In addition, the company is working on some exciting projects closer to home with work on the new Humberside Police headquarters, in Clough Road, due to start any day. Meanwhile, PDS is currently carrying out its third and final contract on a series of Building Schools for the Future (BSF) developments which are being delivered by Balfour Beatty. PDS has now started work on The West Hull Primary Learning Village, comprising of the merger of two primary schools, which is situated on the same site as the Sirius Academy and Ganton Special School project which PDS worked on last year. The company also carried out the cabling work at Kelvin Hall School, in Bricknell Avenue, west Hull.

The BSF work also saw the appointment of three apprentices, creating jobs that have enabled young ambitious trainees to work for PDS on high profile projects in an apprenticeship capacity.
On another exciting note, PDS is in the early stages of a project in China, which would involved the delivery of a large fibreoptic network for process control.