Finning (UK) has been announced as the winner of the highest competitive accolade at the RoSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2012.
The UK’s equipment solutions and power systems’ divisions of Finning International, the world’s largest distributor of Caterpillar plant, were presented with the Sir George Earle Trophy at a ceremony in Birmingham. The presentation was made by Lord Brougham and Vaux, RoSPA vice-president, and Tom Mullarkey, RoSPA chief executive, to Keith Oakes, head of EHSQ at Finning UK and Ireland and David Oates, director, power systems.
Finning UK, which has its head office in Cannock, was selected as the winner of the safety charity’s most prestigious competitive trophy because of its open and positive culture of care that is clearly driven from the top by directors and senior managers. This culture is also energised at every level by the involvement of workers in innovation and continuous improvement, supported by close attention to comprehensive training and mentoring.
Other features of Finning UK’s health and safety management system that particularly impressed the judges included: the practical support provided for many of its engineering staff who often work in relative isolation at clients’ sites; the recent health and safety ‘simplification’ project, which was led by employees and has made risk assessment and safe working procedures easier to operate; efforts to safeguard and promote health; its approach to work-related road safety; and its encouragement to employees to take key safety messages home to help protect themselves and their families outside working hours.
Tom Mullarkey, RoSPA chief executive, said: “Through its rigorous attention to detail and determination to examine thoroughly every way in which it could improve, Finning UK has demonstrated excellent performance. As a worthy winner of the Sir George Earle Trophy – Britain’s top competitive award for health and safety – the firm is committed to sharing its knowledge and experiences as widely as possible to help save lives, reduce injuries and safeguard workers’ health. “We are particularly pleased that the trophy, which was first presented in 1956, has been won by a company that has never won it before – a clear incentive for those who may be wondering whether it is within immediate reach.”
Also a winner at the RoSPA Awards was Boulting Group of Warrington, given The Commended in the Engineering Construction Industry Sector award.
David Rawlins, awards manager at RoSPA, said: “The RoSPA Awards programme provides well-deserved recognition for the winners and spurs on other organisations to raise their standards of accident and ill health prevention. We congratulate Boulting Group on its success and encourage it, and all our other winners, to remain committed to safety and health, an approach that is well recognised to be good for workers and the bottom line.”
Terry Marston, executive director responsible for health and safety with Boulting Group, commented: “This prestigious award reflects the tremendous time, effort and training monies that we as a company invest in the health, safety and welfare of our people. All of our UK wide and overseas based project teams should be proud of their efforts – and from a main board perspective I can confirm that we certainly are!”