NATS strikes gold at health and safety awards

NATS, the UKs leading provider of air traffic control services, has achieved the Gold Medal (six consecutive Golds) in the prestigious annual awards scheme run by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) 2017.

Through the RoSPA Awards scheme, judges consider businesses’ overarching occupational health and safety management systems, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement.

Along with their day-to-day activities, which include conducting rigorous risk assessments and incident logistics, NATS’ health and safety team have been recognised for their “Think Act Be Safe” campaign – an internal project used to encourage staff to be safe at home as well as in the workplace.

As part of the campaign the team raised awareness of risks outside of work, such as fire hazards and winter driving, and internal threats such as working at height and electrical shock risks.

Mel Walker, NATS Health and Safety Business Partner, said: “We are very pleased to have been awarded this Gold Medal in continued recognition of our hard work to maintain and improve health and safety throughout the organisation.

“Not only do we promote best practices within the workplace, but we also try to help NATS staff members when at home. We’re especially proud of our internal campaign as it has successfully helped us share important safety messages and has been a great vehicle for interacting with staff.”

Mel was presented with the award during a ceremony at the Hilton Glasgow hotel on 14 September, whereby competitive awards went to the best entries in 24 industry sectors including construction, healthcare, transport and logistics, engineering, manufacturing and education.

Julia Small, RoSPA’s head of awards and events, said: “The RoSPA Awards are the most prestigious in the world of occupational health and safety, and held in high regard around the world, as winning one demonstrates an organisation’s commitment to maintaining an excellent health and safety record. Achieving the standard required is no mean feat.

“This is a special year in the history of RoSPA, and we congratulate all of our winners in this, our centenary year”.

The majority of awards are non-competitive and mark achievement at merit, bronze, silver and gold levels. Gold medals, president’s awards and orders of distinction are presented to organisations sustaining the high standards of the gold level over consecutive years. For the first time in 2017, the Patron’s Award has been presented to those organisations that have achieved consecutive gold awards for 25 years or more.

Pictured: NATS Health and Safety Business Partner, Mel Walker, with the award.