Working well together number one worker

Winner

Phil Rayment, BAA

In another victory for BAA, Phil Rayment, seconded from Crosby Electrical Services to Terminal 5, has been singled out for praise for his work on T5B, the satellite terminal building where he installs and maintains the temporary electrical systems. For the past 10 months, Phil has been an active member of the T5B health and safety committee and the policy-making safety leadership team. During this time, the judges were told, he has been quietly going about the task of making this project safer for everybody to work on, leading by example, passing on the information that he has learned, earning the respect of his workmates, and championing their views to ensure that all safety practices agreed are ones that his colleagues can realistically carry out. He is described as a man who never looks for personal reward or praise. Well, tough, Phil, because you’ve got it now.

‘He leads by example, passes on the information that he has learned, earns the respect of his workmates, and champions their views’

Runners-up

Mick Browne, Quadric

The judges were really impressed with this entry nominating site manager Mick Browne, who works for Sussex contractor Quadric. Particularly convincing was the list of example telephone calls that Mick had made to the firm’s health and safety officer – such as “I have discovered discarded syringes, please provide a risk assessment and a sharps box”, “The design specifies large blocks – can we use lighter ones that are easier to handle?” and “Why does our policy not consider eliminating dust at source?” It seems that throughout his career at the firm, Mick has always kept in mind safe working practices, and keeps his wits about him constantly to ensure his sites are the safest they can possibly be. Anybody described as “a star” by his health and safety officer must be doing something right.

‘Mick has always kept in mind safe working practices, and keeps his wits about him’

Lawrence Baptiste, Bovis Lend Lease

When the BBC Scotland Pacific Quay headquarters in Glasgow went on site in July 2004, Lawrence Baptiste, a construction manager for contractor Bovis Lend Lease, was the first to take responsibility for setting up health and safety measures and helping the workforce take these on board. Since then, he has worked wonders. Lawrence has been responsible for piloting the Scottish Executive’s occupational health initiative and working towards Scotland Health at Work accreditation; he has been liaising with the local community and schools; he has successfully completed Bovis’ Incident and Injury Free training and now delivers workshops to the site operatives; he is a mentor for the trainee site manager; he has organised a two-day working at height exhibition; and he has set up workforce consultation meetings to ensure all information is getting through to his colleagues.

‘Lawrence has been responsible for piloting the Scottish Executive’s occupational health initiative’

Rodger Dower, KMI Water

Clearly an extremely popular character among his colleagues at KMI Water, Rodger Dower has been described by his nominator as a man who “walks a higher path, who has true honour, integrity and trust and will never let you down”. High praise indeed, but not surprising when you consider his personal achievements on the Dukinfield Wastewater Treatment Works project. He has developed a simple but very effective system that he catchily calls “On Me Head Mate” – a sort of “P” plate for new recruits that identifies them by a green stripe on their hard hat, so workers can identify those who may need help with site hazards. Rodger has also created and delivered the daily site briefings and operatives’ awareness sheets, ensuring every worker starts the day with health and safety in mind. Basically he has single-handedly improved safety on KMI’s site – no wonder they all love him so much.

‘He has developed a simple but very effective system that he catchily calls “On Me Head Mate” ‘

Seon Waterman, Clipfine

Logistics manager Seon Waterman is the face of health and safety for Clipfine’s Kings College scheme, and is rapidly becoming so across other construction sites too. Bovis Lend Lease has virtually adopted him as one of its own, including him as a health and safety representative for the trade contractor, making him part of the Safety Leadership Team, and getting him to deliver inductions on Bovis’ behalf, as he is closer to the workforce than the Bovis project managers. He has launched his own safety campaigns, including a PPE equipment initiative called “Get Your Kit On”, which was rolled out across all Clipfine projects. And Seon has also been invited to other sites to promote his safety campaigns to the wider construction community. Next, presumably, he is planning to take over the world …

‘He has launched his own safety campaigns, including a PPE equipment initiative called “Get Your Kit On” ‘