Top construction safety award winners named

HSC Press Release C055:02 - 9 December 2002

Construction firms and workers from all over Britain were named as health and safety winners in construction health and safety at the third annual Working Well Together 4Cs Awards presented in Birmingham last week (28 November).

Awards were presented in four main WWT categories -- co-operation, communication, competence and commitment - the 4Cs.the 4 Cs of The 2002 awards also featured a new £3,000 award for commitment in small firms, provided by the Birmingham Health, Safety and Environment Association as well as a No1 Worker Award and Special Award.

Speaking at the Awards at the National Motorcycle Museum, the chair of the judging panel, Mike Cosman from the HSE construction sector, said: "Every day there are workers being killed and seriously injured as a result of ignorance or lack of understanding of the simple measures that could protect them. These awards aim to encourage good practice - particularly in relation to small firms.

"The number and quality of entries this year demonstrates that there are a lot of positive things happening out there. We hope that by recognising and rewarding those who are prepared to go the extra mile - whilst still being successful businesses - it will motivate others who still think that the only way to compete for contracts is by cutting corners."

The guest speaker for the evening, Sir Geoff Hurst, 1966 World Cup football hero, said:

"From my time in football and in business, I know the value of people working together as a team. The Working Well Together campaign is about getting everyone in the construction industry on the same side to make safety and health their top priority - on every job, every time."

More than 300 leading representatives of the construction industry attended the Awards dinner, which followed on from the 2002 WWT Conference at the nearby Birmingham Hilton Metropole hotel.

The winners were:

• Co-operation - sponsored by Hays Montrose - Teesside Safety, Health & Environment (SHE) Partnership, Teesside
• Communication - sponsored by Channel Tunnel Rail Link - BNFL, Seascale, Cumbria
• Competence - sponsored by CITB - Edmund Nuttall, Camberley, Surrey
• Commitment - sponsored by Norwest Holst - Taylor Woodrow, Southall, Middlesex
• Small Firms Commitment Award - sponsored by Birmingham Health, Safety and Environment Association - Jomaro Ltd, Snaith, Goole
• No 1 Worker - sponsored by Lincsafe - Pat Dowling, UCATT representative Bovis Lend Lease, Paternoster Square, London
• No 1 Worker Special Award - sponsored by Lincsafe - Ian Whittingham, Wirral, Merseyside

Notes to editors

1. The full list of Winners, Highly Commended and the Special Award are as follows:

Co-operation

Winner: Teesside SHE Partnership. Teesside SHE partnership started in 1999 with the aim "to promote and maintain excellence in safety, health and environment management and performance." From a small core group, the membership is now 50 firms, with a combined workforce of 8,000. Their winning entry showed how pooling the resources of a number of large and small companies can benefit everyone.

Highly Commended Hilti, Keir and Speedy Hire, Laing/O'Rourke Scotland Ltd

Shortlisted: Keir Western, Mowlems, Midas Construction & Bluestone (Partners in Constructing a Safer Environment), Marriott Construction.

Communication:

Winner: BNFL. BNFL showed an impressive range of communication techniques to get across health and safety messages to groups ranging from workers and supervisors to designers - an often overlooked but key group. The company used an impressive range of communication techniques such as cartoons and real life examples of "learning from experience". BNFL also worked with the local NHS Trust to promote healthy living messages to the construction workforce.

Highly Commended Carillion Building South

Also shortlisted: Jomaro, Safesite

Competence:

Winner: Edmund Nuttall. Edmund Nuttall is one of a few construction firms who are accredited Investors in People (IIP) and have been since 1999. The company has a large direct labour force, and aims to retain its workers by investing in them. Training begins with basic skills such as literacy and numeracy and English for non-English speakers. The firm aims to have all staff Construction Skill Certificate Scheme (CSCS) accredited by the end of this year and further training includes NVQs and Institute of Strategic Health (IOSH) courses.

Highly Commended: Vange Scaffolding and Engineering Ltd

Also shortlisted: Berkeley Homes Plc, Carillion Building, Jomaro Ltd

Commitment:

Winner: Taylor Woodrow. Taylor Woodrow's entry showed commitment through out the company to delivering the best health and safety performance in their sector. The sites controlled by each regional director are regularly monitored and this directly influences their rewards package. Good practice is shared at five levels in the business, from site to group level. An impressive website quickly shares examples of good practice across the organisation. Openness is a feature of Taylor Woodrow, with a range of information - including a link to the WWT website wwt.uk.com - available at the click of a mouse.

Highly Commended: Caxton Islington

Also shortlisted: BNFL, Carillion Highway Maintenance, Design Installation Services Ltd, Purac

Small Firms Award for Commitment:

Winner: Jomaro Ltd. Jomaro Ltd is a kitchen installation company from Goole in Yorkshire and employ about 15 people. They were shortlisted for both the Competence and Commitment awards against strong competition. Their entry shows a high level of commitment - especially for a smaller firm. They are Investors in People and are CSCS accredited. The company has a full time safety training officer and a director responsible for health and safety. They have even considered issues such as stress and long working hours and developed practical solutions.

Highly Commended: Data Scaffolding Services Ltd

No 1 Worker Award:

Winner: Pat Dowling. Pat Dowling is a Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT) rep on the Bovis site at Paternoster Square, London. He was nominated by a number of his workmates who were truly appreciative of his continued efforts to improve working conditions. Nominating Pat, a colleague said: "Pat is always thinking of his fellow workers. Building sites would be a lot safer if there was someone like Pat on each of them."

Special Award: Ian Whittingham. Ian Whittingham is a former roofer who, since suffering a fall at work that confined him to wheelchair, has worked unstintingly to improve health and safety in construction. All of Ian's work is voluntary, and he has visited workers on numerous sites up and down the country, sometimes with the WWT bus tour, but often working directly with construction firms. He has been closely involved with the HSE's work to make construction safer and has featured in its construction safety advertising.

Highly Commended: Jim Gaffney (Laing/O-Rourke Scotland)

Shortlisted: Apares Gupta (Top Coat Construction); Nick Proverbs (Wilmot Dixon Construction), George Woods (Multiplex).

2. Judging panel: The judges for the 2002 WWT Awards were Mike Cosman, (HSE) (Chair), Bob Blackman (Transport and General Workers' Union), Dennis Hands (Construction Industry Training Board), John Lacey (Lincsafe), Aaron Morby (Construction News), Edward Simpson (Confederation of Master Builders), Andy Sneddon (Construction Confederation)

3. The WWT 4 Cs Construction Awards: The WWT Awards recognise best practice in health and safety across the construction industry, and are made in the areas of co-operation, communication, competence and commitment. New for 2002 was a special Small Firms Award for Commitment, with a £3,000 cash prize. The No 1 Worker is for an individual who has made a significant contribution to health and safety in construction. A Special Award in this category was made for the first time this year.

4. The WWT campaign: The WWT Campaign is the country's largest construction health and safety campaign, with over 4,000 participating organisations. It was launched by the HSC's Construction Industry Advisory Committee (CONIAC) in 1999. WWT aims to improve performance in four key areas for health and safety - commitment, competence, communication and co-operation. WWT website address wwt.uk.com

5. Sponsor contacts:

6. Winners' contact details:

Press enquiries

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