Congratulations to the UK Marine team, which has been named as this year’s winner of the coveted Safety Sword, the CEMEX UK National H&S Award. This long-standing, prestigious health and safety trophy is awarded annually to the best performing team.

The UK Marine team faced some tough competition from across the business, with the UK Asphalt, Readymix Yorkshire, and Supply Chain Rail and Sea teams also nominated.

This year, the award was judged by Robert House, Health and Safety Director for EMEA, who visited the nominated sites before making his decision. Robert praised the strong sense of line management ownership for Health and Safety from the nominated teams, who are clearly dedicated to keeping people safe, while being very open to ways to further improve.

When choosing the winner, Robert commended the industry-leading, positive Health & Safety performance demonstrated by Marine’s unique operation. He highlighted the clear line management ownership and leadership for safety, as well as how Health & Safety is integrated into the day-to-day operational management. Additionally, Robert referenced the ‘family’ feeling evident in this sector of the business, with a culture of looking out for each other, bolstered by a high level of control which uses robust systems and processes.

Finally, Robert praised how standards appeared to be maintained at all times in UK Marine, including housekeeping and control of contractors. He said it was impressive the way that compliance is fulfilled and monitored to meet various national and international regulatory bodies.

Well done to the UK Marine team and all the other finalists. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to keeping each other safe, our number one priority.

Carl Platt, Chair of the UK Health & Safety Committee