By
Rebecca Gibson |
The Port of Tyne has been awarded a Gold Award by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) at its Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2014.
The RoSPA Awards scheme, which was established 58 years ago, is open to organisations of all types and sizes from across the UK and overseas. The awards recognise organisations’ commitment to continuously improving health and safety measures that prevent ill health or accidents at work. Entrants are judged according to the effectiveness of their health and safety management systems and practices, such as leadership and workforce involvement.
“The RoSPA Awards encourage the raising of occupational health and safety standards across the board,” said David Rawlins, RoSPA’s awards manager. “Organisations that gain recognition for their health and safety management systems, such as the Port of Tyne, contribute to a collective raising of the bar for other organisations to aspire to, and we offer them our congratulations.”
The Port of Tyne, which achieved a silver RoSPA award last year, was recognised for its health and safety system management processes, incident investigations, and efforts to raise health and safety awareness and near-miss reporting. The port was also commended for its training programmes, which are aimed at minimising the number of incidents to a target level of zero.
Through its health and safety efforts, the port has reduced injuries by 25% and increased near-miss reporting by 21%.
“We are delighted to have achieved the gold award in just two years, it’s a testament to the huge efforts that have been made by everyone across the entire port,” said Andrew Moffat, CEO of the Port of Tyne. “We’ve been doing very well through safety training, awareness, monitoring processes and being vigilant – looking out for our colleagues and our visitors, and have encouraged staff to participate by making many excellent suggestions.