Best integrated project safety award

Winner

Scott Brownrigg

The winner of this category, which was one of the most closely contested of these awards, submitted its "fascinating and complicated" work on the restoration of the London Coliseum. The project contained many high risk elements such as the installation of glazed and reinforced concrete roofs, major air-conditioning plant installation, heavy structural engineering works, tunnelling, the re-stabilisation of the existing structure and the decoration of a seven storey high auditorium. Oh, and there was extensive asbestos removal and a couple of thousand innocent bystanders to avoid, too. The work was carried out without major injury thanks to a co-ordinated effort from the client, English National Opera, the design team, which included RHWL and Arup, the contractor Gardiner Theobald CM and planning supervisor Scott Brownrigg. All in all, a model project which demonstrates how early discussion of design hazards can overcome the challenges of even the most complex of refurbishments.

The restored London Coliseum is home to the English National Opera

Runners-up

British Nuclear Group

This most timely of submissions relates to the installation of a roof on what has arguably been the most controversial building in Britain over the past 30 years or so: the Sellafield reprocessing plant. The corollary of this is that only the best tender will be accepted: as the client's submission puts it: "A detailed selective tendering exercise closely scrutinised the safety performance, culture, statistics and innovation to appoint two roofing companies." But it's not just up to the company to supply the expertise: BNG helps them with extensive training. Once the project got under way, the client stressed the importance of multiple routes of communication between individual operatives, unions and project managers. The upshot was a zero rate of deaths, injuries and ill health.

Carillion Building

When Carillion came to picking the team for a scheme for the University of West of England, health and safety performance was a "prime differentiator". After the construction team was assembled the project's ethos was established and reinforced by daily logistics and safety meetings. The aim was to put up 24 seven storey block of accommodation and a sports facility. The work itself was made as safe as possible, in this case through the use of podium steps, corner braces, prefabrication and rigorous organisation of the trades within their respective zones.

HBG Construction

This contractor entered its work on a couple of facilities for the University of East London, a learning resource building and a knowledge exchange building, which together come to a cool £25m. During the lifetime of the project - which is almost complete - there have been no reportable accidents, and this has been recognised by the granting of three consecutive regional quarterly gold awards for health and safety. HBG puts its success down to creating a safe site culture, and this was achieved by creating the bedrock of good working relationships on site and then building on it with vigilant management and training together with site newsletters and individually briefed safety advisers for each specialist.

Land Securities

The project entered by this developer was the BBC's Scottish headquarters at Pacific Quay in Glasgow, for which it handled the design, construction, fitting-out, occupation and maintenance of a media centre on 28,500 m2 of reclaimed docks. The project's health and safety strategy was to lay the stress on design solutions. The strategy is managed through the execution of a series of detailed working procedures covering the five core principles of leadership, team working, valued people training and social responsibility. In practice this means a monthy safety reward, specially made induction videos, weekly inspections, the provision of an occupational health nurse, safety exhibitions and accreditation with the Considerate Constructors scheme and Constructing Excellence's demonstration projects. There have been no accidents.

Mace

Welcome to the world of Heathrow Terminal 3, Pier 6, where Mace was recently organising the cutting of steelwork using specialist flame cutting techniques fairly adjacent to the passengers in the Singapore and Malaysian Airways first class lounge on one side, and on the other the truck of kerosene rolling in to refuel the big four engine intercontinental planes. Accidents were avoided by making the most of off site assembly, continuous improvement through conscientiously implemented feedback, behavioural based safety training and the introduction of compulsory hand and eye protection.