Safety Awards 2020 Winners Announced

PM Group wins All Ireland Supreme Safety Award 2020

The 29th National Irish Safety Organisation / Northern Ireland Safety Group (NISO/NISG) Annual Occupational Safety Awards took place on 22 January 2021 in a special online ceremony at which the Supreme Safety Award winner for 2020, sponsored by Irving Oil Whitegate Refinery, was announced as PM Group.

As the Supreme Safety Award winner in 2019 also, PM Group has made Safety Award history by becoming the first organisation to win the top prize two years in a row!

The Supreme Safety Award is presented to the organisation that has shown consistently good or continuously improving health and safety performance over a number of years and an outstanding contribution to occupational safety, health and welfare during the previous year. The Awards are highly valued and regarded among health and safety professionals throughout the island of Ireland.

Under normal circumstances the safety awards would have been presented to the award winners in a prizegiving ceremony and gala dinner event in October of 2020. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the event was moved online.

Other awards presented in the online ceremony include the Safety Representative of the Year Award 2020 in association with The CPL Institute. The winner of the Safety Representative of the Year Award for 2020 was Margaret Murphy from PricewaterhouseCoopers, Cork, and the Runner Up prize was jointly awarded to John White and Trevor Johnston from AA Ireland.

The Driving for Work Award was won for the second year in a row by KD Group. The Driving for Work Award is an award requiring entrants to demonstrate evidence of the following in relation to driving for work: policy, planning, practice, measuring performance and reviewing performance.

The Healthy Workplace Award, supported by Healthy Ireland, was won by Alexion Ireland. The Healthy Workplace Award recognises the commitment of workplaces who promote health and wellbeing as a core element of the Health and Safety agenda.

The Occupational Health Award, supported by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI), was won jointly by the 2019 award winner Kiernan Structural Steel, and Vision Contracting Ltd.

Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English, T.D., acknowledged the tremendous work carried out by both NISO and NISG in promoting the cause of better workplace health and safety. He noted that the awards acknowledge the “dedicated efforts of the winners to ensure that their places of work provide safety to all present.”

Mr. English also said that the Awards “acknowledge the innovate ways that safety measures can be introduced without disrupting the operation of a business but also enhancing the work experience of employees”.

Dr. Sharon McGuiness, CEO, Health and Safety Authority, said that “Given the challenges everyone has had in work, and indeed out of work, as a result of COVID this past year, today’s event is a really great testament to those who are showing a continued importance of health and safety in the workplace, for businesses and workers alike.”

Harry Galvin, NISO President, announced the award winners from over 100 organisations from all around the island of Ireland. NISG Chair, Ashleigh Birkett, also addressed the award entrants and winners during.

Other special guest speakers who contributed to the online event included Robert Kidd, Chief Executive, Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland and Dave Murphy, Chief Executive Officer and David Tomlinson, Group Head of Health and Safety, PM Group [Supreme Award Winner 2019]

The Gold Award was won by Designer Group., the Silver Award by Actavo and the Bronze Award by Weltec Engineering Ltd.

The awards, which demonstrate the positive and proactive culture of safety management in organisations, were supported by the Health and Safety Authority, Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland, Healthy Ireland and Irving Oil Whitegate Refinery.

Excellence in Safety, a new award which acknowledges organisations that achieve a high standard safety award for more than 15 continuous years, was won by Actavo.

A number of Exceptional High Achiever awards were presented to organisations that consistently achieved a high standard safety award for more than ten years, representing their continuous commitment to health and safety in their organisation. Recipients of this award include Actavo, Colas Bitumen Emulsions (West) Ltd. / Chemoran, Colas Contracting Ltd., Designer Group, Fingal County Council, John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd., Jones Engineering Group, PM Group, TLI Group Ltd.

View the online presentation and the full list of awards winners here: safetyawards.ie

Hall of Fame – 29 years of winners of the Supreme Award

2020 PM Group
2019 PM Group
2018 Tipperary Fire and Rescue Service
2017 Jones Engineering Group
2016 John Paul Construction
2015 Sierra Support Services Group
2014 Cold Chon (Galway) Ltd. (Chemoran)
2013 GE Healthcare
2012 MSD, Brinny
2011 Diamond Innovations Irish Operations
2010 Masonite Ireland
2009 PSE Kinsale Energy Ltd.
2008 Swords Laboratories
2007 Baxter Healthcare Irish Manufacturing Operations
2006 Helsinn Birex Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
2005 Roadbridge Ltd.
2004 Helsinn Chemicals Ireland Ltd.
2003 Bausch & Lomb Ireland
2002 GE Superabrasives Ireland
2001 Merck Sharp & Dohme (Ireland) Ltd.
2000 Aughinish Alumina
1999 Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd.
1998 Bausch & Lomb Ireland Sunglass Operation
1997 Olin Chemicals BV
1996 Intel Ireland Ltd.
1995 Janssen Pharmaceutical Limited
1994 Merck Sharp & Dohme Ireland
1993 Irish Refining plc
1992 Arthur Guinness & Son (Dublin) Ltd.

Interested in more information about the 2019 awards?
Visit our dedicated website SafetyAwards.ie