Launch of IQ Excellence Awards

IQ launches industry-wide awards to celebrate individual and sector successes in mineral extractives

THE Institute of Quarrying (IQ) has today announced the launch of its first-ever industry-wide awards celebrating the personal and professional excellence of people working in the mineral extractives sector.

The IQ Excellence Awards will recognize the exceptional achievements of individuals, teams and projects across five UK regions: Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, North England and South England. Each regional award winner will automatically go forward to the national excellence awards to compete for the overall national title in each category.

James Thorne, IQ’s chief executive officer, explained: ‘This is all about celebrating success, with a particular focus on recognizing excellence at a local level and nationally. That’s why the IQ Excellence Awards are two-tiered awards, with winners in each of the five regions, as well as a grand final. 

‘The grand final itself will take place at Hillhead 2020. All of our regional winners will come together for a very special evening at which the national winners will be crowned. It promises to be an amazing evening so we’re encouraging everyone to get involved.’

Recognizing the commitment to continuing professional development, the award categories are aligned to the different quadrants of the IQ Skills Wheel.

Team/project-based award categories:

• Best Personal Development Project – to recognize initiatives that are aimed at supporting the professional development of employees at company or site level.
• Best Community Engagement Project – to recognize projects where sites are actively engaging their local communities and achieving positive results.
• Best Initiative to Engage Workforce or Team – to recognize the best initiative aimed at supporting workforce engagement at either company or site team level.
• Most Effective Process Improvement – to recognize a team, project or initiative of technical process improvement that has delivered improved operational performance.

Individual based award categories:

• Health & Safety Individual Excellence Award – to recognize the achievements of an individual in improving the health and safety performance on site.
• Most Inspirational Leader – to recognize an individual who has made the strongest positive impact on the team they are part of.
• Most Promising Future Leader – to recognize a talented individual for building their all-round knowledge and skills.
• Most Innovative Leader – to recognize an individual who has made the best impact on the innovation ecosystem at site, business unit or organizational level.

Phil Redmond, president of the IQ, said: ‘We’re very excited to launch the first-ever IQ Excellence Awards. It will be a big celebration of the mineral extractives industry, recognizing the hard work and commitment to lifelong learning of professionals from across the UK.’ 

To enter the IQ Excellence Awards and for more information visit: www.quarrying.org