Luton construction firm Ryebridge Ltd has been awarded its sixth prestigious gold award by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
The award recognises the company’s outstanding work at London Luton Airport (LLA) – a £7million project which included the creation of four new aircraft stands and the construction of a new taxiway extension - both designed to help the airport increase capacity and improve the efficiency of aircraft movements.
This project was part of the airport’s largest single investment to date and is set to increase annual capacity by 50% to 18 million passengers by 2020.
The Ryebridge team adopted a new ‘Safety Differently’ approach for this project, launched by London Luton Airport and spearheaded by Simon Bown, head of health, safety and environment at the airport.
Speaking at Ryebridge’s staff event in earlier this year Simon said: “Safety Differently marks a shift in focus – from bureaucracy and ticking lots of boxes, to an ethical decision to look after staff. Safety is not the absence of accidents, it is the presence of trust, ownership, engagement and positives. It is great to see Ryebridge supporting our new approach and being an innovative, progressive company.”
Keeping safety at the forefront of all it does, Ryebridge launched a new app for mobile phones this year – to keep its workforce safe and secure.
The safety app enables staff to easily report everything from health and safety hazards, incidents and near misses, along with environmental issues such as fuel spillages at the click of a button, with Ryebridge becoming one of only a few companies to do this in the UK.
Ryebridge director Daniel Coyle, said: “Our staff no longer have to leave a site to return to an office and report an incident or hazard. Now, our staff will simply be able to pull out their phones, take a photo and press send. We check the app results daily, take action if needed and use the information to ensure we continue to put safety at the forefront of all we do.
“We are delighted that our strong relationship with London Luton Airport. Health and safety is at the heart of all we do and to be recognised for our commitment to excellence is a proud moment.”
The RoSPA Awards scheme, open to businesses and organisations of all types and sizes from across the UK and overseas, look at companies overarching occupational health and safety management systems, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement. The awards are now in their 62nd year.