NHBC Health and Safety Awards 2013

The NHBC (National House-Building Council) have announced the winners for their Health and Safety Awards 2013. The Awards recognise on-site Health & Safety best practices across four categories which relate to the size of the developer.

The NHBC sets standards for the Building Industry to protect the homeowner. It is the leading warranty and insurance provider for UK house-building for new and newly converted homes. Find out More on the NHBC Website.

It is great to celebrate the good side of the building industry and we approve of the NHBC’s efforts to improve standards in the industry. While Health and Safety has become a bit of a buzzword for killjoy generally in the UK, there is no doubt that health and safety is a very important part of construction. Building sites can be dangerous places, and so it makes sense to try to limit the risks for builders and contractors who work on them.

It is also a good indicator of the professionalism of the workmen and the companies involved in these prizes that they value their safety, and the safety of their employees.

The winners were chosen by an independent panel of experts after very careful assessment. The panel included

• Neil Stephens, Head of Planning and Communications in the Construction Division of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
• Kevin Fear, Head of Health, Safety and Environment at Construction Skills
• Michelle Aldous, Chief Executive of Constructing Better Health.

The National Winners were selected from 54 commended entries announced in May, having also then been named as Highly Commended and Regional winners for their area during the Gala Final.

Best Site Award – National Winners

There were four house-building site managers named as national winners at the ceremony hosted by DIY SOS TV presenter Nick Knowles earlier this month.

“The four National Winners all showed great leadership, creativity and innovation in addressing the particular challenges of their sites. They all demonstrated that they had exceeded usual best practice. To win the ultimate award is a huge achievement and we congratulate them all.” Tom Kitchen, Health and Safety Operations Manager at NHBC

Special Award – National Award Winners 2013

Special awards were also given for Best Health and Safety Worker Engagement Programme and Best Individual Health and Safety Leader.

Miller Homes Limited – Best Health and Safety Worker Engagement Programme

Matthew Bostwick, Southdale Ltd – Best Individual Health and Safety Leader

These awards reward performance in areas critical to excellent health and safety for employees and the public in the building industry, and particularly the need for robust Health & Safety leadership and increased worker engagement.

DIY Doctor supports organisations that strive to improve standard in the building industry, find out more about finding a good builder and how to avoid cowboys in our Home Improver Protection section.