BSC: Celebrating exceptional commitment and dedication to workplace health and safety
British Safety Council announces International Safety Award 2018 sector winners, health and safety champions, employee wellbeing initiative and OHS innovation winners
Lawrence Waterman OBE, Chair of Trustees, and Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, announced the names of the organisations which have been judged best in sector at the 2018 International Safety Awards Gala Dinner, held at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on 27 April 2018.
The names of the individual winners of the Health and Safety Champion and Young Health and Safety Champion, as well as the winners of the Award for Employee Wellbeing Initiative and the Award for Innovation to Improve Occupational Health and Safety, were also revealed.
Congratulating all the winners of the 2018 International Safety Awards, Mike Robinson said: “We are here tonight to celebrate the achievements of 550 winning organisations and 60 years of improving health and safety standards around the world. Realising the vision of the British Safety Council that no-one should be injured or made ill at work requires more than just legislation; it requires people to be inspired and engaged and celebrating success is one of the very best ways of engaging people.
“We are continuously striving to increase our impact. During the past 12 months, we opened our first overseas office in Mumbai, India, we launched our new manifesto at a parliamentary reception and published the Future of Risk report. We are also establishing five new sector interest groups and launching three new campaigns, the first of which will address concerns around the effects of air pollution on outdoor workers. Our overall aim is to enhance the impact of the campaigning we undertake. As our new Chair of the Board of Trustees, Lawrence Waterman said on his appointment, “I want the British Safety Council to discover its campaigning zeal again".”
Now in their sixth year, the Health and Safety Champion and Young Health and Safety Champion Awards recognise exceptional individual performance of people who, although not health and safety professionals, have played a significant role in keeping their work colleagues safe and healthy. For the Health and Safety Champion of the Year Award, organisations nominate employees aged 25 or over. The Young Health and Safety Champion of the Year Award is given to a worker aged 16-24.
The Health and Safety Champion award went to Pawan Kumar, Subros Ltd, India, while the highly commended award in this category was presented to Mark Burnett, Clugston Construction Ltd, UK.
The winner of the Young Health and Safety Champion award was Araceli Carqueijo, Overbury Plc, UK, whilst the highly commended award was presented to Ryan Dawes, Sodexo UK&I.
Those International Safety Award winning organisations that were considered by the panel of judges as outstanding in their respective sectors were honoured with the Sector Awards. This year, the Sector Awards went to the following companies:
Construction and property services – CLC Group Limited – Southampton, UK
Education – Pearson TQ – Minley, UK
Leisure, sport clubs, hospitality and catering – Arsenal Football Club, UK
Local government, defence and public services – Al Ain City Municipality, UAE
Manufacturing – GlaxoSmithKline Services Unlimited PEM, UK
Not for profit – The Football Association, UK
Oil, gas, mining and quarrying – Shapoorji Pallonji Bumi Armada Offshore Ltd, India
Power and utilities – Tecton Engineering &Construction LLC, Construction of Trunk Sewer in Abu Dhabi Island, Asset Enhancement Scheme and Area 3, Part 2, UAE
Transportation, distribution and storage – Unipart Logistics, UK.
The recipient of the 2018 Chief Adjudicator’s Award, which recognises an outstanding commitment to the effective and proportionate management of health, safety and welfare in the workplace, was CLC Group Ltd – Southampton.
This year, the British Safety Council introduced two new award categories which reflect the changing nature of workplace health and safety. The winner of the Award for Employee Wellbeing Initiative was Loughborough University, while the winner of the Award for Innovation to Improve Occupational Health and Safety was Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd.
For the first time, the organisation granted two Awards for Outstanding Bravery – to Nitin Kumar of L&T STEC JV – Mumbai, and Pranav Anand of Shapoorji Pallonji Armada Offshore Ltd, India. Both individuals, who are not health and safety professionals, were identified in the adjudication process as deserving a special recognition for their selfless acts of bravery.
The winners of the Mates in Mind Impact Awards, which recognise employers’ good practice in bringing about awareness and understanding of mental health in construction, were: in the SME category – RSE Group and in the large organisation category – Barhale Ltd.
Lawrence Waterman concluded: “Today the pace of change is faster than ever before, not only because of technological progress but also because of what is happening in society. Historically, improvements in our approach to health and safety have followed major disasters, such as those at King’s Cross, Hillsborough and Potters Bar. But we cannot afford to wait for things to go wrong before we start addressing emerging risks, not least because of the speed of development.
“We need new ways to manage risk, with clear regulatory frameworks and well-resourced enforcement, not limited to the traditional workplace. At the same time, sharing good practice, through the forums of the British Safety Council, and celebrating successes through the International Safety Awards, are a brilliant contribution to raising global standards.”
