Celebration and Inspiration
MPA Health & Safety Awards 2012
The Mineral Products Association’s prestigious Health & Safety Conference and Awards 2012 took place on Tuesday 13 November at BAFTA, London, bringing together 78 organizations from the length and breadth of the UK, to recognize, reward and share best practice, progress and results in health and safety.
Overall, the Awards attracted 142 entries from 32 member companies, with a significant proportion of submissions provided by companies with less than 1,000 direct employees.
A full-house of 224 delegates attended on the day, including MPA members, industry representatives, contractors, key health and safety personnel, representatives from the HSE, and other key stakeholder organizations.
The theme of this year’s Health & Safety Conference and Awards, sponsored by PICS, the contractor prequalification services company, was Delivering ‘Safer by Partnership’ and Inspiring Excellence.
A key focus of the morning conference session was the MPA’s ‘Safer by Partnership’ initiative, launched earlier this year, for members and their contractors to work more closely together to reduce contractor injuries and the incidence of ill health, as part of the drive to achieve Zero Harm.
Progress on the MPA’s emerging Contractor Charter was reported, while the Association’s new Contractor Database – also part of the ‘Safer by Partnership’ initiative – was launched at the event.
Nigel Jackson, chief executive of the MPA, said: ‘MPA members need to be able to demonstrate contractors’ and sub-contractors’ competence with the same degree of rigour as if the contractors were directly employed.
‘It is in recognition of the key role that contractors play in the achievement of Zero Harm that we have developed ‘Safer by Partnership’ and will shortly be launching the MPA Contractor Charter to complement the MPA Contractors Database that we have launched today.
‘Health and safety is the top priority for MPA members and our Conference and Awards aim to celebrate outstanding practice in this field and inspire the best possible performance.
‘This year has been a great one for the UK with the success of the Olympics and the wins by Team GB’s cycling squad after so much hard training. Let’s learn from that Olympian dedication and commitment as an industry, to continually push for a health and safety record that is nothing less than first class and the achievement of Zero Harm.’
Keynote speaker Frances Outram, HSE board member and chair of the Small Business Trade Association Forum, also drew on the Olympics in her address. She said: ‘The Olympics were remarkable because of the inspiration they provided to us all – the athletes themselves and also the thousands of volunteers. They showed us what can be achieved when we adopt a ‘can-do’ attitude.
‘I hope that this is a spirit we can continue to foster throughout the health and safety community – across all industries.’
She added: ‘I would like to thank the MPA for its co-operative work with the HSE to promote key strategies and messages within the various industry sectors, championing the setting of ‘targeted initiatives’ for its members and committing them to reducing accidents by a set percentage over specific time periods.
‘This method has proved to be very successful and, with the guidance and support that the MPA offers its members, is helping to improve standards of health and safety.
‘Improvement in health and safety is most effectively achieved when it becomes totally integrated into everything else you do. Those who try to do health and safety as an ‘add-on’ very rarely achieve an effective safety culture that can be sustained.
‘So keep doing health and safety as an integral part of your work, make it part of being competitive, optimizing production and achieving manufacturing excellence.’
Ian McKinnon, executive director PICS EMEA, who have recently been selected to deliver, for the MPA’s producer members, an industry-wide contractor prequalification database programme, said: ‘The MPA has taken the lead to reduce contractor injuries and the incidence of ill health; and ultimately to achieve the target of Zero Harm.
‘We felt the theme of the event, ‘Delivering ‘Safer by Partnership’ and Inspiring Excellence’, summarized our services perfectly, so given our relationship with both the MPA and a number of its members, we were delighted to support the awards day and be involved in recognizing outstanding performance.’
The afternoon awards ceremony showcased members’ cutting-edge approaches to understanding and tackling health and safety challenges in ways that are helpful to the whole industry. The Awards were judged across seven categories, with winners in each (see box).
The two overall winners of this year’s independently judged MPA Health and Safety awards were Stanton Bonna Concrete, who won the Sir Frank Davies Trophy for companies with less than 1,000 employees, and Singleton Birch Ltd, who won the John Crabbe Memorial Trophy for overall ‘outstanding excellence in health and safety’.
Four MPA Special Awards were also presented to SME member companies. For companies with less than 100 employees, the MPA Special Awards went to Eurovia Roadstone and Hills Quarry Products Ltd; and for companies with 100 to 1,000 employees, the MPA Special Awards went to Barr Quarries and Colas Ltd.
In addition, 29 named individuals were recognized for ‘going the extra mile’ in furthering the cause of health and safety.
Bitumen; Asphalt; Contract Surfacing: Promoting Safer Behaviour
Winner: Midland Quarry Products – Griff Quarry and asphalt plant
Contractors Safety
Winner: CEMEX UK/Response Engineering – South West and Wales
Engineering Initiatives
Winner: Aggregates Industries (Bardon Aggregates) – Stoneycombe
Leadership; Training and Management Systems Initiative
Winner: Lafarge Aggregates and Concrete – Granite House
LGVs and all company vehicles; Driver Safety/Public Safety
Winner: Hanson UK – Hanson Concrete
Occupational Good Health
Winner: Aggregate Industries – Concrete Products – Leighton Buzzard
Worker Involvement
Winner: Tarmac – Buxton Lime & Cement
