The Absolute Elite

The absolute elite from the world of health and safety were recognised for their achievements in November 2007 when the winners of the British Safety Council’s Sword of Honour 2007 were announced at the Goldsmiths’ Hall in the City of London.

Only 40 Swords are presented each year and are so highly prized that entries come from all over the world. Again this year, international recipients travelled from as far afield as India, the UAE and America.

Entrants must first have undergone the BSC’s exacting Five Star Health and Safety Management System Audit (in the qualifying period) – and achieved a maximum five stars. These are then whittled down to the top 40 by an independent adjudication panel.

Why a Sword?

The Sword of Honour is given as a symbol of trust and responsibility. They were presented this year by Brian Nimick, the Chief Executive of the BSC.

At the superb luncheon which preceded the presentation, Brian Nimick made reference to both the Corporate Manslaughter Act and the Climate Change Bill when he told his audience: ‘We are here at a time of change, a time when health, safety and environmental issues are thankfully being given the prominence that they deserve.’

Brian was also able to announce that in 2009 – 30 years after the inaugural Sword of Honour presentation – the BSC has committed itself to launching the Globe of Honour environmental award.

Entry Level Award

One year on from the announcement that the BSC would fund the assessment of every young person at school so they could achieve the Entry Level Award in Workplace Hazard Awareness (a three-way initiative with the HSE and IOSH), Brian was able to state: ‘I am pleased to announce that as of October 2007, 1,139 schools (23 per cent of secondary schools in the UK), have entered the scheme with over 56,000 young people now registered, all of who will benefit from the BSC commitment.’

The guest speaker at the event was Professor Sayeed Khan, highly respected in the medical world and member of the Health and Safety Executive’s board.

For further information on the 2008 Sword of Honour Awards, please click on the links top right or contact the Corporate Affairs Department direct on Tel: +44 (0)20 8741 1231 or (email) corporate.affairs@britsafe.org

Sword of Honour – Quotes from some of the 2007 Winners

DEWA – Announces SoH to Dubai Press

One particularly proud overseas winner of the Sword of Honour took time out to hold an official press conference. The Dubai Electricity & Water Authority called together local and national media to announce its award by the British Safety Council.

H.E. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, said: ‘The Sword of Honour is considered the highest award of its type to be given to any company in the field of occupational safety and health, through very strict terms and criteria.’

Serco and GSL Hit the Heights

A total of four HM Prisons in England won a Sword of Honour: HMP and YOI Doncaster (run by Serco Group Plc); HMP and YOI Ashfield (run by Serco Group); HMP Kilmarnock (run by Serco Group); HMP Rye Hill (run by GSL)

David Hanson MP, Justice Minister for England and Wales, said: ‘I am delighted that managers and staff at Ashfield, Doncaster, Kilmarnock and Rye Hill have received this recognition despite the challenging circumstances currently being experienced across the prison estate.’

McNulty Offshore Construction

Sasha Keyworth, Health, Safety and Environmental Manager

‘To win our tenth consecutive Sword of Honour is a massive achievement.
I never thought we’d get ten, I’ve got a whole armoury now!
‘We did our first Five Star Audit back in 1996 because we were doing a contract in Holland and they wanted us to have a certified safety system, but we only achieved one star, which we were really disappointed with.
‘So we implemented a management programme and the following year we got five stars and we’ve been achieving that ever since.
‘Once I’d understood how prestigious the Sword is and the fact that there are only 40 companies in the world that achieve it each year, I thought we just had to go for it. My plan for the future is to get my twentieth Sword!’

GSL HMP Rye Hill Willoughby & GSL Tinsley House Immigration Centre

Karen Wilson, Offender Management and Immigration Service Safety, Health Environment Manager

‘We first applied for the Five Star Health and Safety Audit because we wanted to benchmark ourselves against external organisations and to see where we were internally with our policies and procedures. Both Tinsley House and Rye Hill achieved five stars at the first attempt, so we were really pleased.
‘Since taking part in the audits and achieving the swords, our accident rates have shown a great improvement and to me that shows that people are getting better and their awareness is better. Health and safety has now become part of our culture.
‘For me, achieving the Sword is the pinnacle because you can’t go any higher than that. It is a great reward after so much hard work.’

Drydocks World-Dubai

Mark Biggs, Building Director

‘We have travelled from Dubai to be here and this is the fourth consecutive Sword of Honour we’ve won.
‘Achieving something like this is a great morale boost to all staff because they can see something brought about by all their hard work.
‘We first did the Five Star Audit back in 2002 because we wanted to benchmark ourselves against comparable industries and there is nothing better to use as a benchmarking tool than the BSC audit.’

Microsoft UK

Ria Cresswell, Health and Safety Advisor

‘Being awarded the Sword of Honour is a fantastic achievement and it reflects the effort that every Microsoft employee has put into achieving this.
‘Winning the Sword has reinforced the culture and the attitudes towards health and safety within the company. It also provides our clients with evidence that we are good at what we do.
‘Receiving the award has really heightened our awareness of health and safety because we didn’t think we’d achieve five stars straight away, so now we’re more focussed on our goals.’

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing

Walt Leebetter, Health and Safety Risk Manager

‘This is the first time the company has achieved the Sword of Honour and it feels great. We’re the first Arms Lengths Management Organisation to win the award.
‘We applied for the Five Star Audit to measure how far advanced we were with our health and safety systems, procedures and assessments.
‘I think health and safety has improved tremendously within the company since achieving the Sword. There was no health and safety there as such before we started doing the BSC’s audits.’

PC Harrington Contractors Ltd

David Faulds, Group Health and Safety Director

‘We applied for the Sword of Honour because it is the ultimate accolade of health and safety. This is the second consecutive year we’ve achieved the award.
‘It feels brilliant to win the sword, especially as a construction company because I don’t believe anyone else from the industry has ever won it twice in a row.
‘Health and safety has definitely improved since achieving the award. It’s changed the culture within the company and the staff can be reassured that what they’re doing out in the field is represented at higher levels.
‘For me personally, winning the award has always been my goal. By putting a safety management system in place that is robust enough and practical enough for others to use and getting recognition for this from the BSC, I have achieved the best I possibly can.’

Meadwestvaco Packaging Systems

Vivienne Kennedy, Health and Safety Site Co-ordinator

‘We took part in the five star audit because we wanted an external benchmark, not just to see where we were within the industry but where we were globally.
‘We’ve always been eligible to apply for the Sword, but this is the first time we’ve gone for it because we felt we were where we wanted to be with regard to safety, having received the International Safety Award as well. The Sword just seemed to be the cherry on the cake.
‘Since achieving the Sword, we’ve realised that it’s quite prestigious and have been amazed by the response we’ve had. Even some of our European colleagues have been ringing up and saying ‘this is really prestigious, why aren’t you shouting about it?’’

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