Grundon shines with Gold RoSPA Award
Grundon Waste Management has won a prestigious Gold Award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) for Health and Safety Excellence.
It follows on from the Silver won last year, achieved at the first time of entering.
The internationally-recognised award means Grundon is now seen as a world leader in health and safety practice, an accolade which Grundon’s own Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) manager Reg Hodson, says makes him and his team very proud.
“We are absolutely delighted, this is a tribute not just to the work of our safety team, but for the business as a whole,” said Reg. “After winning Silver in 2019, it really spurred us on to go for Gold and this achievement is absolutely fantastic. Every year we strive to do even better, not just by continuing to reduce incidents and accidents, but by providing more information to engage with our employees to ensure they all
go home safe at the end of the day.
“We have a very open culture and we make sure that health and safety is prioritised throughout. It doesn’t matter if you are working in an office or driving a 26-tonne waste vehicle down the road, our aim is to drive the culture that says take time to focus, think about what you are doing, and make sure you stay safe. I am incredibly proud that we do this extremely well and that our actions have been recognised by RoSPA.”
Julia Small, RoSPA’s Head of Qualifications, Awards and Events, said: “The RoSPA Awards scheme is the longest-running of its kind in the UK, but it receives entries from organisations around the world, making it one of the most sought-after global accolades in health and safety.
“RoSPA wants every employee, wherever they are, to work safe in the knowledge that they will be going home unharmed and healthy at the end of every day. The RoSPA Award winners are vital to help achieve this goal, as by entering they are driving up standards and setting new benchmarks for organisations everywhere. Currently, around seven million people are directly impacted by the RoSPA Awards, but the scheme’s influence is even wider.”
Recognised as being the UK’s longest health and safety industry awards, every year nearly 2,000 entrants compete for success, each hoping to be rewarded for their achievements.
Judges look for excellence in health and safety management systems, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement.
Following last year’s success, the SHEQ team used valuable feedback provided by RoSPA to help focus on this year’s entry, which included demonstrating commitment from the senior leadership team; providing evidence of activities such as the appointment of safety champions and safety events; and outlining the company’s role within industry organisations and the wider waste sector.
A key highlight was the regular visits made by the board of directors and the senior leadership team to all Grundon sites throughout the year to talk to employees about health and safety.
Reg says he believes it is initiatives like these that make a difference, explaining: “When people see our leadership team out on site they know they can talk to them freely about issues and that’s how it should be.”
Among other ongoing health and safety initiatives are the annual Grundon Safety Weeks. In 2019, this concentrated on mental health and wellbeing with a campaign entitled ‘Take Time’, encouraging employees to consider their own mental health as well as taking time to think about those around them.
The award winners will be recognised at a virtual awards ceremony on Thursday 3 September.
For more information about the RoSPA Awards visit www.rospa.com/awards