British Constructional Steelwork Association Wins New Safety Assistance Award

The British Constructional Steelwork Association Ltd (BCSA) has become the first winner of a new award in recognition of its outstanding contribution to helping small and medium-sized firms with accident and ill health prevention.

The association was presented with the SME Assistance Trophy, sponsored by BHSF, at the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2011 in Birmingham on Wednesday.

The new trophy recognises that many SMEs rely on the expertise of trade associations and similar bodies for advice and assistance about managing health and safety in a balanced and sensible way.

After receiving the award on behalf of BCSA, Peter Walker, the association's health, safety and training manager, said: “We are delighted to be the first ever winners of this trophy, which reflects the importance our industry places on health and safety. The judges were looking for hard evidence of our performance, diligence and commitment towards improvement. I am proud that we have demonstrated those qualities to the highest standard among our peers.”

Tom Mullarkey, chief executive of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said: “We congratulate the British Constructional Steelwork Association Ltd for being the first recipient of this new award. The SME Assistance Trophy is founded on the belief that external organisations that have ‘gone the extra mile’ in the help they provide should be recognised and thanked. We also hope that highlighting good practice in this way will encourage other trade associations to step up their support in this area.

Peter Maskell, chief executive of BHSF, the Midlands-based health insurer and employee benefits provider, said: “We are pleased to be sponsoring this award, not only to support RoSPA but in support of employee wellbeing generally. We have, since our beginnings, been dedicated to improving the health and welfare of ordinary working people and this award is yet another way in which we can further that aim.”

As well as being presented with the trophy, BCSA will receive a RoSPA benefits package to help it enhance its contribution to improving SMEs’ health and safety management systems.

With some entries still to be judged, the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2011 are on course to match last year’s record-breaking total of more than 1,750 winners from the UK and overseas. This is the 55th year in which RoSPA, an accident prevention charity with a 94-year history, has presented awards for occupational health and safety management. Most of the winners were presented with their awards during three days of ceremonies at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel this week (May 17-19).

The RoSPA Awards, the majority of which are non-competitive, look not only at accident records, but also entrants’ overarching health and safety management systems, recognising important practices such as strong leadership and workforce involvement. Competitive awards are presented in more than 20 sectors and specialist awards recognise excellence in specific areas, such as the management of occupational road risk.

The RoSPA Awards 2011 were sponsored by NEBOSH - the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health. Visit www.rospa.com/awards/ for more information about the RoSPA Awards.