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The winners of the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA) 2017 Safety Health and Environment Awards have been announced.

The awards recognise health and safety best practice and environmental innovation for one of the most dangerous work spaces: live roads. The four categories include Health and Safety Innovation, Workforce Involvement, Behavioural Safety and Environmental Innovation. They were judged by Ray Cooke, head of construction safety unit at the Health and Safety Executive, and sponsored by Nynas Bitumen.

First prize for Health and Safety Innovation went to Multihog UK Limited for the development of its Multihog machine. The fixture of a road planer attachment, development of front and rear sweeper attachments together with a 400 litre water tank for dust suppression has resulted in an innovative multi-purpose road repair machine that removes worker exposure to hand arm vibration syndrome, suppresses on-site dust and reduces noise levels to 82dBa compared to readings of 109dBa for traditional jackhammer methods. In addition, the machine offers significant productivity and efficiency savings. Of the developed and enhanced machine, Howard Robinson, RSTA Chief Executive said: “Multihog have shown how to reinvent traditional methods of surface treatment into something that is innovative and superior offering a win:win of both health and safety benefits plus productivity gains.”

Second prize for the Health and Safety Innovation category was awarded to Asphalt Grid Systems for its improvements to the loading and unloading of asphalt geosynthetic materials, some of which can weight up to 130kgs each, to reduce the potential hazard of back and arm injuries.

WJ Products Limited won first prize for the Workforce Involvement category. To encourage a culture of safety and best practice, WJ products have implemented a [email protected] email system to capture site incidents and practice information. The system recognises that the most qualified group of people able to identify and advise of safety improvement opportunities is the workforce who actually carry out the day-to-day operations. Such close involvement of the workforce has seen ongoing improvements in the company’s WJ Guardian system for road stud installation which has resulted in a 100% elimination of operative injuries whilst installing road studs, and a further 20% reduction of overall accident/incident rates. Above all, there has been the establishment of a culture of individual responsibility which has led to improved teamwork. “WJ Products are to be congratulated on their realisation of a company’s most important resource: the experience and input of its workforce,” said Robinson.

Eurovia Specialist Treatments was awarded second prize in this category for its programme to improve communications and engagement with its transient workers via regular team site Meetings, team site briefings and safety tours. This has seen a significant improvement in the company’s overall health and safety culture.

The Behavioural Safety category was won by LKAB Minerals Ltd. The company recognized that it is the behaviour of the workforce that determines whether or not injuries occur. With this in mind, LKAB introduced Visible Felt Leadership techniques to its sites. Trained personnel undertake ‘safety walks’ of sites to review the health and safety issues, discuss potential hazards and solutions with operatives and encourage commitment to safer working. Since the introduction of the safety walks the number of harm incidents has reduced by over 70%. There has been an increased openness which has seen the visitors undertaking the walks being actively welcomed and approached as operatives feel encouraged to provide feedback. “LKAB Minerals have implemented a culture of empowerment and openness that encourages the workforce to identify the potential problem and to propose the answer. To install such behaviour is key if accidents are to be prevented”, said Robinson.

Second prize for Behavioural Safety went to Tayside Contracts for its novel Safety and Health Awareness Day held as an enacted trial in a real court, the No. 1 Courtroom, Perth. Complete with defendant, legal team and jury the enactment demonstrated the potential legal ramifications and underlined the message that prevention is better than cure.

WJ Products Limited won a further first prize for winning the Environmental Innovation category for its innovation to reduce omissions. The development of a 3-boiler bank for placing white, yellow and red road markings reduces the need for two separate site visits. This effectively reduces vehicle movements, and the corresponding CO2 and particle emissions, by 50%. Eliminating the need for a second site visit also increases productivity and reduces the on-site work-related road risk.  Robinson commented: “Poor urban air quality is becoming a major issue. This simple yet effective innovation has seen WJ Products cut its on-site emissions by half.”

Kiely Brothers and Total Bitumen were awarded second prize for their joint initiative to reduce the potential for accidental spraying or spillage of bitumen emulsion when it is transferred from tankers to sprayers. Their ‘Safe Transfer of Emulsion’ passport scheme saw the development and implementation of a new set of delivery rules that has resulted in zero spill incidents.

“The welfare of workers and of the environment are paramount considerations. The RSTA awards celebrate the ongoing programmes of improvement being implemented by the road surface sector to ensure that its workforce is safe and that its impact on the environment is managed and reduced”, said Robinson. “The RSTA members who have been recognized by these awards are to be congratulated for their ability to think ‘outside the box’ to deliver initiatives that really work and for their willingness to share their developments for the good of the sector as a whole.”