Working Well Together awards successes

Citation

(2001), "Working Well Together awards successes", Facilities, Vol. 19 No. 7/8. https://doi.org/10.1108/f.2001.06919gaf.002

Working Well Together awards successes

Working Well Together awards successes

Keywords: Awards, Construction industry

Four construction companies have been rewarded for their "safety first" Working Well Together (WWT) national 4C construction awards.

The inaugural awards attracted an excellent response from organisations and companies across the industry. The judges – Rodger Evans, head of the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Construction sector, David Nunn, Editor-in-chief of Contract Journal and Peter Andrews, chairman of the Construction Federation – had the difficult job of deciding who had devised and put into action plans that best summed up their approach to the core themes of the campaign – commitment, co-operation, communication and competence.

Commented Rodger Evans: "Working Well Together aims to improve health and safety by changing the culture of the construction industry especially through commitment. It was gratifying to see some of the imaginative ideas brought to the judges' attention.

"Competition in each of the four sections was tough, which in itself was a tribute to the high standards the awards seek to foster," he added.

"These awards are designed to promote best practice in the construction sector and are set to become a benchmark of excellence among all sectors of the industry. They got off to a flying start and we are now eagerly awaiting next year's event," he concluded.

Dr Evans also thanked sponsors Lincsafe, cdmUK.com, Mouchel Consulting, Channel Tunnel Rail Link, the Construction Federation and Contract Journal for their support.

The evening's premier award, the Silver Helmet for Commitment, went to Warings Contractors Ltd. Its entry, said the judges, showed a high degree of planning and action on health and safety undertaken by the company, which actively involved everyone from the directors to the workforce. The firm introduced a systematic approach to improving health and safety through its Re-Establishing Safety through Continued Understanding and Education (RESCUE) initiative. "Highly commended" entries were received from Berkeley Homes plc, Carillion plc, Keir Group, O'Rourke, Scotland and Walters UK Ltd.

Taking the honours in the "Co-operation" section was BNFL Engineering. The judges were impressed with its efforts to include and support its contractors in getting health and safety "right". Judges commented that its approach showed how a firm with 1,700 staff and 2,500 contractors encouraged everyone to co-operate in health and safety, noting, in particular, efforts made to gain the active involvement and co-operation of the workforce. "Highly commended" entries were awarded to Jarvis plc and Taylor Woodrow Construction.

"Communication" award winner was Purac Ltd. The firm promoted health and safety to its site managers, subcontractors and workers through training site inspection and audit, highlighting both good and bad practice. "Highly commended" were Allen plc, Edmund Nuttall Ltd, HBG Construction, Keir Southern and Rollalong.

Finally, the "Competence" honours went to Keir Southern, which developed a comprehensive action plan to promote excellence in health and safety through improved levels of competence, incorporating training at all levels.

The judges felt that the company identified the right areas on which to concentrate its actions to ensure that training met the identified needs of the workforce and subcontractors. "Highly commended", meanwhile, were BNFL Engineering, Carillion plc and Taylor Woodrow Construction.

Following the awards, Olympic athlete Kris Akabusi gave a challenging and entertaining speech, urging all WWT participants not to rest on their laurels and persevere in making the industry even safer.