The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) has announced that Ken Logan was awarded an MBE for services to health and safety and to the local community in Northern Ireland in the New Year Honours List 2017.
Ken began work with HSENI back in January 1985 and is currently Principal Inspector of HSENI’s extractive industries and waste team. During his time in HSENI Ken has also headed up the construction industry group from 2000-2012.
Speaking about Ken’s award HSENI Chief Executive Keith Morrison said “The team at HSENI are absolutely delighted that Ken Logan has been awarded this distinguished honour.
“Ken has driven significant improvements in health and safety standards in several sectors, most notably construction and extractive industries.
“In an occupation where it is difficult to measure the things that have been prevented from happening, there is no doubt in my mind that there are many people alive in workplaces today because of Ken’s dedication and efforts over the years.”
Speaking about his award Ken outlined “I feel greatly privileged and recognise this is an honour for both the industry work in improving health and safety and work in the community.
“My first 15 years in HSENI was spent working within the quarries concrete sector. Back then, two to three people were being killed every year. In that industry we managed to get this statistic turned around and we had a ten year period where we had no deaths, which was excellent.
“When I headed up the construction industry group I forged partnerships with colleagues and industry partners such as the Institution of Civil Engineers, The Construction Industry Training Board and other organisations. By working together we managed to reduce the number of workplace fatalities.
“The whole thing involves working together to tackle the issues of poor standards of health and safety to improve standards.”
Ken has tackled the main causes of incidents by collaborative work with the industry, the development of systems to reduce risk of injury and by simplifying legislation and technical information to make it understandable for the industry. Ken has also made great efforts to acknowledge those who champion safe working, to assist those struggling to improve, and to hold to account those who fail to protect their employees and the wider public.
