MB NUCLEAR
WINS TOP SAFETY AWARD
Gateshead-based
mechanical construction company Motherwell Bridge Nuclear has won
a prestigious safety award from the British Safety Council.
The Award is
one of TEN won by the Motherwell Bridge Group, parent company of
Motherwell Bridge Nuclear, at its sites throughout the British Isles.
But the engineering group faced a tough test in order to satisfy
an independent Awards Panel.
British Safety
Council Award winners must have a lower than average accident rate,
good safety policies and safety plans, and commitment to health
and safety at the highest level. A qualified Health and Safety Officer
is mandatory for each Award winner and they must also provide details
of two significant advances in health and safety for the past year.
Alan Murphy,
Executive Director of the Group Management Board responsible for
Health, Safety and the Environment at Motherwell Bridge, said: “This
is a great achievement for Motherwell Bridge Nuclear and the Motherwell
Bridge Group as a whole. It emphasises the importance we place on
safety and the efforts, both financial and in terms of personnel,
we put into improving our safety record at all of our sites.
“Three years
ago, we appointed a Group Safety Manager to report to the board
on all safety matters. Norman Stevenson has held this position since
February 1999. Our record, thanks to the efforts of Norman and his
team, has been improving steadily since then."
“We are very
proud to have won these awards, but we will not become complacent
and we are looking to further improve our safety standards at Motherwell
Bridge Nuclear in Gateshead and all the Group’s other sites in the
future.”
Motherwell Bridge
Nuclear has benefited from several recent advances made by Motherwell
Bridge to its already superb safety record, mainly by the creation
of standardised health and safety policies throughout the Group,
as well as new accident reporting and emergency procedures.
In addition
to Motherwell Bridge Nuclear, the British Safety Council presented
Awards to Motherwell Bridge Group members: Motherwell Bridge Holdings,
Motherwell Bridge Engineering, MB Material Handling Systems, MB
Aerospace, MB Plastics, Motherwell Bridge Storage Tanks, MB Services,
Motherwell Bridge Rail and John Young (Kelvinhaugh).
Sir Neville
Purvis, KCB, Director General of the British Safety Council, said:
“The National Safety Awards highlight organisations that reach the
top levels of health and safety. They are a mark of a proven and
significant achievement in safety standards. By making safety an
important feature of everyday work practice, the Motherwell Bridge
Group is reducing accidents and ill-health whilst improving productivity
and profitability.”
Prime Minister
Tony Blair said: “By bestowing these Awards annually, the British
Safety Council highlights the importance of safety in the workplace
and I have no doubt that it will continue to spread this message
successfully. I have great pleasure in sending my best wishes to
all the winners.”
Motherwell Bridge
Group Safety Manager Norman Stevenson added: “I’m delighted to say
the majority of our divisions are operating more than 50% above
the national average in their various industries.
“Group figures
also demonstrate an improvement of 30% on the previous year, which
is a remarkable achievement when you consider that the hours worked
are up by 62%. It emphasises our never ending commitment to making
the workplace as safe as possible.”
Motherwell Bridge
Group has also been honoured by the Royal Society for the Prevention
of Accidents (RoSPA) for its outstanding safety record. Motherwell
Bridge Storage Tanks won two Gold Awards. MB Services at Motherwell
and Humberside won two Gold Awards and a Gold Medal, which is only
awarded after winning RoSPA Gold Awards for five consecutive years.
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