O’Donovan Waste Disposal win business accolade

Company sets standard for safety at 2016 SHD Logistics Awards

O’DONOVAN Waste Disposal have secured the coveted Safety Award at the 2016 SHD Logistics Awards. The awards, which took place in Birmingham during the International Materials Handling Exhibition, brought together more than 500 logistics industry professionals to celebrate the best businesses, teams and individuals.

The SHD award recognizes O’Donovan as leading the way with their safety initiatives; a business-wide commitment to excellence led from the top. The company – spearheaded by managing director Jacqueline O’Donovan – has invested substantial time and resources into safety training, culture and technological innovation, continually setting new standards for fleet safety and best practice for other organizations across the industry to aspire to.

The recent award is a major achievement for the family-run business, who were up against some key industry players with larger fleets and greater resources, including Hermes, Eddie Stobart and British Gypsum.

O’Donovan are pioneers in fleet safety; they are one of the first firms to become a Construction Logistics and Cyclist Safety (CLOCS) champion and are piloting new lorries in conjunction with manufacturers MAN, DAF, Volvo and Mercedes. It currently has a Mercedes Benz Econic 4x2 skip loader 1830L in service that offers the driver an unparalleled view of vulnerable road users. 

As well as developing new technologies, O'Donovan retrofit enhanced safety equipment to their fleet as well as being the first company to purchase the Econic skip loaders – said to be the first of their kind to be commercially put to work in the UK.  

The company has also achieved accreditation to the national Safe Contractor Scheme and Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) Gold accreditation for the fifth consecutive year.

Jacqueline O’Donovan commented: ‘We pride ourselves on our exceptionally high standards of safety, training and technology, and are honoured to be named winners of this award. We are delighted to be recognized for our focus and hard work in developing these areas in order to improve standards and promote best practice across the industry.’