17 October 2008

Ingenuity and Innovation Take Centre Stage at QPA Health and Safety Awards

QPA's most prestigious health and safety event of the year took place today at the Institution of Civil Engineers in London: the QPA Health and Safety Best Practice Awards. Lord McKenzie of Luton, Government spokesman on health and safety in the House of Lords, was the keynote speaker.

2008 has seen a record number of 235 entries to the awards. Entries were assessed by seven independent judges, aided by QPA assessors, and the finalists fell into six categories:

• Occupational Health, Hygiene and Welfare
• Slips, Trips and Falls (including from height)
• Management of Contractors and/or Hauliers
• Worker Involvement
• Prevention of Bitumen Spills
• Miscellaneous Initiatives

The top prize in overall health and safety excellence is the John Crabbe Memorial Trophy which this year has been won by Aggregate Industries. The Sir Frank Davies Trophy, aimed specifically at small to medium-sized businesses, has been awarded to CPI Mortars Ltd. Hanson UK and Lafarge Aggregates are also amongst the trophy winners.

The 2008 Awards have also seen a special prize for the most improved H&S performance go to Hills Quarry Products Ltd. Furthermore, for the first time this year, 12 certificates of achievement have been presented to site-based individuals who have gone the extra mile in delivering health and safety best practice.

Also included in the 2008 ceremony were awards organised by the British Cement Association (BCA) under the "Revitalizing Health and Safety" initiative. Prizes were presented to companies that achieved zero Lost Time Incidents (LTIs) and the winners were Aberthaw, Cookstown and Hope cement works.

In celebrating the successes of a crop of exceptional best practice winners, the QPA Health and Safety Awards have also driven home the message of how crucial health and safety at work is for the quarry products industry and how seriously QPA members take this issue.

Simon van der Byl, QPA Director General, said: "Health and safety is the absolute priority for our members. These awards demonstrate the great steps which are being taken to achieve our 'hard target' of zero reportable injuries, in addition to a 50% reduction in HSE reportable injuries by the end of 2009. Today's award-winners are extending the boundaries on occupational health and safety excellence and deserve the highest praise. The quarrying industry is now recognised as an exemplar in improving health and safety standards - today has further confirmed this accolade."

Dr. David Pocklington, Director of Industry Affairs at BCA, commented: "Health and safety is a major priority for the industry and these improvements resulting from management, individual and team effort are to be applauded. Health and safety is a non-competitive issue and collaboration is a key driver to improvement. With the alignment of BCA, QPA and TCC from 1st January next year, this is another step in achieving closer co-operation between these bodies."

To see the full results grid - click here.

ENDS

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