New safety award launched for smaller construction firms

HSC Press Release C031:02 - 19 July 2002

Smaller firms are being given the chance to show their commitment to safety with the launch of a new category in the construction industry's Working Well Together (WWT) awards.

The WWT 4Cs Construction Safety Awards are a national contest run by the WWT campaign. WWT is the largest safety campaign in the industry, with over 4,000 participating organisations, and is supported by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), trade unions and the construction industry.

Although the annual 4Cs awards are now in their third year, this is the first time that smaller firms have had an award category dedicated to them. Their entries need to give examples of their commitment to health and safety at work.

To enter for the 'small firms' award, organisations must have fewer than 15 employees or an annual turnover of less than £500,000.

The overall 4Cs Awards scheme is sponsored by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and is open to firms of any size, which work directly in construction or in related businesses, such as architecture or equipment supply. Companies can enter for any or all of four categories to show how they have demonstrated the 4Cs of commitment, competence, cooperation and communication.

Announcing the new award category, HSE Chief Inspector of Construction, Kevin Myers said:

"This new award, specifically targeted at smaller businesses is an important development of the WWT campaign. We estimate that over half of the 1.8 million people in the construction industry work in small firms or are self-employed. We need to ensure that all construction companies, irrespective of size, are properly managing the health and safety risks they create and control.

"By introducing this new award we hope we can capture some of the excellent achievements by smaller firms and demonstrate that you don't need to be a big firm to get involved in improving health and safety - or indeed winning awards!"

The awards will be presented at a prestigious gala dinner on 28 November at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham.

To find out more about the WWT 4Cs awards, visit the WWT website at wwt.uk.com.

Notes to editors

1. The WWT 4Cs Awards form part of the national campaign "Working Well Together" launched in 1999 by the Health and Safety Commission's Construction Industry Advisory Committee (CONIAC). WWT aims to improve performance in four key areas for health and safety - commitment, competence, communication and co-operation (the 4Cs).

2. Statistics for the year 2001/02 reveal that 114 people died (106 workers and 8 members of the public) as a result of construction work. This fatality rate of six per every 100,000 workers, makes it the highest for 10 years. The campaign was formed with the aim of reducing this horrific toll.

3. Entry fees for the Small Firms category in the WWT 4Cs Awards are £20 for the first entry, then £5 for entries into other categories. Fees for larger firms are available on request.

4. The first WWT 4C construction awards dinner took place in 2000.

5. The judging panel will consist of representatives of the industry, as well as sponsors, unions and HSE.

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