SHE success for Port Talbot GGBS plant

South Wales plant wins UK prize and comes third overall in HeidelbergCement TEAM area awards

HANSON’s Port Talbot ground granulated blast-furnace slag (ggbs) plant in South Wales won the UK prize and finished third overall at HeidelbergCement’s inaugural TEAM area ‘safe work, healthy life’ awards conference held in London on 18 March.

The top international award went to Garipce ready-mixed concrete plant in Turkey with the Gent 1 cement plant in Belgium named as runner-up.

Judging for the awards, which focus on housekeeping, health and safety management and environmental controls, began early last year.

Competing sites were evaluated against a list of 15 criteria by their own staff, local management and visitors, and more than 6,500 individual assessments were logged on the HeidelbergCement intranet.

The UK business line winners were: Port Talbot (cement); Whatley Quarry (aggregates); Criggion Quarry (asphalt) and Glasgow Central (ready-mixed concrete).

Representatives from all four Hanson sites gathered in London along with colleagues from the best-performing sites from throughout the TEAM area, which covers the UK, northern Europe, Benelux, Spain, Turkey, Israel and parts of Africa.

After a series of briefings on health and safety best practice, the event culminated with a gala ceremony to announce the winning sites. The national winners were announced first, followed by the top three TEAM sites.

TEAM area head of health and safety Troy Felts said he was delighted with the enthusiasm shown throughout the region for the awards, which were designed to improve the profile of health and safety and introduce a sense of competition to be the safest – and the best.

‘The idea was to improve site appearance, working conditions, attitude and behaviour, and install a sense of pride in the workplace,’ he said. ‘It’s an investment in our people and will hopefully provide a connection between what is desired and what is practiced.’