HSE praises MPA safety efforts

With almost 350 entries received for the 2897 Mineral Products Association’s Health and Safety Best Practice Awards, the 2938 Health and Safety Executive praised the progress made by the organisation’s members. The 2010 awards were held yesterday, in association with the 2904 Institute of Quarrying (IoQ), at the 4602 Institution of Engineering and Technology in London.

The two top prizes, the Sir Frank Davies Trophy, for companies with less than 1000 employees, and the John Crabbe Memorial Trophy, for outstanding excellence in Health and Safety, were won by the A-one+ Consortium (402 Colas, 4604 Halcrow, 4605 Costain) and 4606 Midland Quarry Products, respectively. Awards were presented across seven categories and the MPA was pleased to report that the awards saw more independent and SME members of the MPA participating in, winning and attending the awards than ever before.

MPA chief executive Nigel Jackson, said, “The efforts our members are making to improve health and safety deserve praise and recognition. This year, the high level of positive involvement in the scheme from independents and SMEs, in addition to the significant number of entries submitted by our major members, is particularly gratifying. We are happy to have introduced new awards tailored to reward SMEs for their success in health and safety best practice.

Speaking at the event, HSE chair Judith Hackett CBE said, “Three years ago I was impressed by the progress you had already made, by the level of openness you had achieved in sharing good practices across the sector. But above all I was impressed by the practical common sense innovations which you were showcasing which had been implemented in companies and were making a really big difference to health and safety on the ground in the workplace.

“As your performance has improved and as HSE has worked with this industry sector over the last 10 years, I hope that you will have observed that the relationship between the industry and the regulator has changed. MPA and the quarrying sector is an excellent example of how that relationship between industry and regulator has matured and evolved into partnership.”