Jones Engineering Group took the top prize at the 32nd National Irish Safety Organisation/Northern Ireland Safety Group (NISO/NISG) Annual Safety Awards.
The awards, which took place on October 13 in Killarney, saw the company take the All Ireland Supreme Safety Awards 2023.
The top prize is given to the organisation that has shown consistently good or continuously improving health and safety performances over a number of years. It is also given to those who show an outstanding contribution to occupational safety, health and welfare during the previous year.
Jones Engineering also took home the Excellence in Safety Award as well as the Occupational Health Award, which it shared with Bon Secours Hospital Dublin.
Declan Grady, group environment, health and safety (EHS) manager at Jones Engineering Group, said that the organisation was delighted to take home multiple awards, and the recognition validated much of the work it has put in over the years.
“Winning the prestigious All Ireland Supreme Award is an honour and testament to the exceptional safety standards we strive for at Jones Engineering,” he said
“Also, winning the Occupational Health Award and Excellence in Safety Award is further validation of our dedicated efforts and unwavering commitment to exceptional health and safety standards across all aspects of our company.”
A safety-conscious work environment
Grady said the company prioritises safety and health in many ways, such as comprehensive training programmes and fostering a safety-conscious work environment, as well as encouraging employees' active involvement in safety initiatives.
“We ensure alignment on EHS standards by clearly communicating expectations to all parties,” he said.
Other top prizes included the Gold Award, which was won by Actavo, with Winthrop Engineering taking the Silver Award again, and Weltec Engineering Ltd receiving the Bronze Award. Throughout the night, awards were presented to more than 100 organisations from all across the island of Ireland.
The event had more than 600 attendees, with the guest of honour Neale Redmond TD, Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, presenting the awards.
Harry Galvin, the president of NISO, praised everyone who took part in the awards, highlighting how positive it was to see standards continue to rise even in adverse conditions.
“Congratulations are due to all the entrants who, during difficult times, continued to showcase their efforts to pursue the highest standards of health and safety in their organisation,” he said.
“Their efforts were clearly visible in the results, with very small margins separating companies in all sections of the awards. Year on year, the standard increases all the time.”
Galvin gave special mention to the high standards that all organisations showed, with this year being the first that saw all winners finishing in the top three safety categories.
“For this first time in its 32 years, there were no category four or five awards, with all winners filling the top three categories.”
The quality of submissions was echoed by Wendy Beatty, chairperson of NISG, who commented on the high quality seen throughout.
“The high standard of the submissions received for the NISO/NISG Awards is a testament to the development that we have seen across all sectors in occupational safety and health,” she said.
“Every year, companies who put together their detailed submissions have shown commitment to ongoing improvement in health, safety and well-being.”
She mentioned how the awards are “a great opportunity to mix with like-minded individuals who are year on year raising the standards for health and safety and show their determination to keep working to reduce the number of workplace incidents”.
Other awards presented on the night include the Safety Representative of the Year Award 2023, which was won by Mairead Connolly of Baxter Healthcare, with the runner-up prize awarded to Keith O’Connor of Bulgari Ireland Ltd.
John Graham Construction Ltd won the Healthy Workplace Award, while Adman Civil Projects Ltd won the Driving for Work Award.
The Excellence in Safety Award, which is awarded to those who achieved a distinction level or above for 15 consecutive years, was won by Jones Engineering Group, Actavo (Ireland) Ltd; Colas Bitumen Emulsions (West) & Colas Contracting Ltd; Designer Group, and PM Group.
The Exceptional High Achiever Award, for achieving a distinction level or above for ten consecutive years, was presented to 18 different organisations, including BAM Ireland, Bon Secours Hospital Dublin, Cork City Council, Ecolab, John Paul Construction, John Sisk and Son (Holdings) Ltd, Walls Construction Limited and Weltec Engineering Ltd.