The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has continually showed its support for the British Safety Council’s International Safety Awards (ISAs) Scheme, which recognise and reward companies who have achieved success in reducing incidents in the workplace.
The ISAs, which have been running for over 50 years, take place in May at the lavish Grosvenor House Hotel in London, where organisations from around the world gather together to celebrate success in health and safety.
HSE Chief Executive, Geoffrey Podger said of the award scheme: “It is good to see companies not only taking extensive measures to ensure the health and safety of their workforce but embedding it in their organisational culture.
“The International Safety Awards Scheme is a very effective way of rewarding companies that put employee health and safety at the heart of their business. I hope the best practice examples we see through the work of the winners serve as a benchmark and reminder to the wider business community to place health and safety at the top of their boardroom agenda.”
The award scheme, which is site specific, is devised to recognise and reward organisations that are committed to continuously improving their health and safety performance with a proactive approach.
To demonstrate this, companies must benchmark their site performance against their own annual statistics when applying for an International Safety Award. External adjudicators review a variety of documents provided by the applicant, including safety policies, safety plans and the health and safety officers’ qualifications.
Winners must also demonstrate board level commitment to health and safety as well as details of significant health and safety advances for the qualifying year.