Lavendon wins safety prize for second year

Lavendon Group plc has won the RoSPA (Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents) Gold Award for Occupational Health and Safety for the second time in two years. Gold Awards are given by RoSPA to organisations that demonstrate the highest standards of health and safety at work.

To become a recipient Lavendon had to demonstrate that it had reduced the number of accidents and cases of ill health at work - and has robust health and safety management systems in place.

The Gold award will be presented at a ceremony at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel, at the National Exhibition Centre, on Wednesday, May 18, 2011.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), a safety charity, launched its awards programme 55 years ago. The scheme looks not only at accident records, but also the entrants' overarching health and safety management systems, including important practices such as strong leadership and workforce involvement.

David Rawlins, RoSPA's awards manager, said, "RoSPA firmly believes that organisations that have demonstrated their commitment to continuous improvement in accident and ill health prevention deserve recognition. Lavendon Group Plc has shown that it is committed to striving for such continuous improvement and we are delighted to honour it through the presentation of an award."

Mike Potts, Chief Executive of Lavendon Access Services, said, "Winning the RoSPA Gold Award for the second successive time is fantastic news. It reflects the incredible amount of hard work our staff continue to put in to maintaining the focus and commitment that Lavendon dedicates towards improving health and safety.

"Setting the highest health and safety standards is good for us and our customers. We are determined to take a leadership role in raising health and safety standards and continue to strive to ensure that workplaces are as safe as possible."

The majority of RoSPA's awards are non-competitive, marking achievement at merit, bronze, silver and gold levels. Organisations maintaining high standards can win gold medals, president's awards and orders of distinction.