The British Safety Council and Mates in Mind recently recognised exceptional commitment to workplace health, safety and wellbeing at thier annual awards ceremony.
Alastair Campbell
The event, held at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on April 5, was compered wellbeing campaigner and journalist, Alastair Campbell.
Now in their seventh year, the Health and Safety Champion and Young Health and Safety Champion Awards recognise exceptional individual performance. These are people who, although not health and safety professionals, have played a significant role in keeping their work colleagues safe and healthy.
This year, the Health and Safety Champion award went to Dave Renshaw, Workshop and Warehouse Supervisor, Allied Infrastructure Management ltd, UK.
The winner of the Young Health and Safety Champion award was Himanshu Yadav, Engineer, Subros Ltd, India.
The 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 activities – MMC Gamuda KVMRT (T) SDN BHD, Malaysia
Education – Kingston University, UK
Financial, IT, legal, scientific, technical services and media – Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP, UK
Health and Social Care – ISS Facility Services – Healthcare, UK
Leisure, sport clubs, hospitality and catering – Arsenal Football Club, UK
Local government, defence and public services – Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai
Manufacturing – Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Oil, gas, mining and quarrying – Mina Abdullah Refinery, Kuwait National Petroleum Corporation, Kuwait
Onshore major hazard – Malaysian Refining Company SDN BHD, Malaysia
Power and utilities – Larsen & Toubro Limited, Power Transmission & Distribution Independent Company, India
Transportation, distribution and storage – Unipart Logistics, UK
Wholesale and retail services – Arcadia Group Ltd, Leeds, UK
Distinction winners
The recipient of the 2019 Chief Adjudicator’s Award, which recognises an outstanding approach to risk management and employee engagement, was Sharkey SE, UK.
Last year, two new award categories were introduced, reflecting the changing nature of workplace health and safety. The winner of the Wellbeing Initiative Award was A. Schulman Inc Limited, UK, while the winner of the Innovation in Occupational Health and Safety Award category was L&T Construction, India.
for the second time, British Safety Council granted the Outstanding Bravery Award. Its recipient was Fazal Ahmad, HSE supervisor, at PakArab Fertilizers Ltd, Pakistan. He was identified in the adjudication process as deserving a special recognition for his selfless act of bravery in the face of great danger.
Celebrating success
Congratulating all the winners of the 2019 International Safety Awards, Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of British Safety Council, said: “We are here tonight to celebrate the achievements of 507 winning organisations and our joint efforts to improve health and safety standards around the world.”
Lawrence Waterman, Chairman of British Safety Council, added: “At the time when our country, communities and families are divided by political events and hostile attitudes of groups and individuals with entrenched views, it is important to focus on what can draw us together. The principal role of health and safety is ensuring the welfare of people, all people, while the aim of environmental management is to protect our planet.
“We’re now hearing less about a race to the bottom and reducing health and safety standards after Brexit. But we need to stay on our guard since there are politicians and executives who think worker protection is worth sacrificing for trade deals. That’s why we need to stay focused and keep improving our workplaces to make them healthy, safe and productive. That’s why we also need to keep campaigning.
“Creating safe and healthy workplaces can be profitable, effective and productive. That’s why whole organisations, from directors to the shop floor, celebrate the International Safety Awards.”
Construction sector
As part of the ceremony, Mates in Mind announced the Highly Commended and Winners of its 2019 Impact Awards, which aim to recognise and celebrate the effort and good work of large organisations, SMEs and individuals across the UK.
Mates in Mind Impact Award Winner Seddon Construction Ltd
The winner in the Large Organisations category was Seddon Construction Ltd, which was praised for having the courage to have a conversation following the tragic death of Jordan Bibby, one of its apprentices, as an organisation demonstrating true leadership to build a vision for the future that had inclusivity, health and wellbeing at its core.
Chevron Traffic Management and Network Rail: IP Western & Wales were both Highly Commended in the same category.
The winner in the SME category was Artelia UK, for its efforts in managing supply chains and frameworks, to spread the message and touch as many people as possible. Wring Group and RSE Building Services were both Highly Commended.
On announcing this year’s award recipients James Rudoni, Managing Director of Mates in Mind said: “Our warmest congratulations to all our Winners and those who were Highly Commended – they should be proud of their achievement, but more than that, for their contributions to improving the mental health of their workforce and the wider industry.”
This year, for the first time, Mates in Mind also offered Supporters the chance to nominate a colleague for their new category, the Mates in Mind 2019 Individual Champion Award, which went to Richard Carrington from Williams Southern Ltd. David White from Galliford Try was named as the Individual Champion Award in the Large Organisations category.