The SHP Awards judging panel has selected four finalists for SHP’s Trailblazer in Technology Award.
New for 2020, SHP Trailblazer Awards celebrate those who are going above and beyond to make a positive difference, the real pioneers of health and safety.
Trailblazer in technology recognises individuals who have effectively used technology to improve the health, safety or wellbeing of their colleagues, customers or the general public.
SHP Trailblazer Awards is brought to you as part of the wider SHP Awards, in collaboration with the HSE and IATP.
The winners will be announced in mid-December.
The finalists are:
Dr David Greenberg, CEO/Founder, Eave
Eave is an Internet of Things start-up, which has designed the world’s first smart ear defenders with integrated noise monitoring. It’s creator, David, is a former NHS clinical and research audiologist. He taught Hearing Science at the UCL Medical School and School of Audiology, and received a PhD in Auditory Neuroscience for his published work on the neural mechanisms underlying hearing, deafness, and communication.
Since 2015, Eave has been in a constant cycle of development and production, moving from a minimum viable product, an IoT hearing conservation system using ear defenders and noise monitoring software that prevents Noise Induced Hearing Loss, to a revised and upgraded product enhanced through end-user testing and feedback.
This year the company has focussed on the construction industry, where the need to protect workers from noise is paramount. It’s second generation product, the Eave FocusLite has proved successful on construction sites, and is now being rolled out across the industry.
Judges commented on how the entry was “passionate, proactive, preventative” and “exactly the way we should be using technology. Hearing loss is a major burden, not only in the UK, but internationally as well.”
Colin Nottage, Director, The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast
Colin established The Interesting Health and Safety Podcast in June 2019, with his own finances and time and has brought over 140 episodes of content to health and safety professionals around the world. In September 2020, the podcast was signed by Safety FM in the USA to further spread the messages to the USA, the Far East and Australasia.
Judges highlighted how Colin has helped the health and safety profession in two distinct ways, by interviewing some of the worlds most influential health and safety thinkers and bringing their thinking to a wider audience. Secondly, by developing a training programme to help mentor up-and-coming professionals in the discipline.
The podcast is not just consumed by health and safety professionals but also business leaders, managers and the general public. In 2020 it has already received two excellence awards, based around employee engagement, within one of the highest risk industries in the UK.
Luke Robinson, Strategy & Innovation Manager HS, Wincanton Logistics
Luke has developed safety courses to achieve RoSPA approval with 100% success on virtual reality fire training. He has also achieved a second RoSPA approval with 100% success and A for its accident investigation course. The use of virtual reality brings the courses to life. Luke’s involvement has seen pass rates improve from 95% to 99% and course scores for hands-on individuals with different learning styles jump from 30% to between 60% and 90% (pass rates remain over 99% with assessments now more challenging). He has created 12 new jobs in HSE and fire, several from existing employees.
Because of the positive impact of the training, Wincanton is now selected providers of the CLEAR partnership (the Centre for Logistics Education and Research), sited in Magna Park, Europe’s biggest logistics park. This will allow Wincanton to open up the training program to the whole logistics industry and showcase its use of technology in education.
This has had a dramatic effect on the buy-in to safety within the main employee community. 455 of Wincanton staff have been put through the VR fire courses.
Third-party clients from the Coldstream Guards, the oldest regiment in the British Army have now volunteered to use learning credits towards courses, as have many more clients and organisations. Judges were impressed how 75% of attendees stated they have changed behaviours following the fire course and purchased extinguishers and fire blankets for their own homes.
James Sharp, Chief Technical Officer, Riskex Ltd
James been involved in Internet Technologies since 1994, working for an Internet Service Provider in Northamptonshire during the boom of domestic internet services. Throughout his 20 year career at Riskex, James has immersed himself in health and safety, undertaking his NEBOSH General Certificate, working on consultancy projects to learn Occupational monitoring and finally gaining his Diploma.
Since 2000 I have been the founding developer and lead architect for AssessNET, a cloud-based Health and Safety Management solution. In February 2020, James sat down with Riskex CEO Mark Delo to discuss the unfolding COVID-19 situation in Asia. They knew that it was one that would present huge health and safety challenges and that the key is to control the risk at source, impressing the jusges with their ‘foresight’.
James was the architect and single-handed developer of a cloud-based tool, Safe2Day, in record time. The tool helps with daily monitoring of employees across an organisation, so they can make informed decisions about risk and safeguard their people every day. It emables them to gather and analyse information about people to manage COVID-19, identifying who was safe and who posed a risk.
The judges picked up on his determination to stick with proposal and see it through to a second generation. Judges were also impressed how the technology was open to all and can be used again, not for a specialised market, opened to the general public.
