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Winners of Good Practice Awards for innovative solutions for improving health and safety in Europe’s construction industry

A highly effective safety and health management system in Denmark, which has kept accidents down during the construction of a new multimedia house for Danmarks Radio (DR), is one of five initiatives that has won a prestigious Good Practice Award for improving health and safety in Europe’s construction industry.  
 
The awards, which are run by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, were presented at the closing ceremony of the European Week for Safety and Health at Work on Monday, 22 November 2004, in Bilbao, Spain.  
 
The five award-winning schemes include:  
 
  • A highly effective health and safety partnership between employers, workers, designers and other stakeholders during the construction of a new multimedia house for Danmarks Radio (DR): After around 800,000 working hours on the site, the frequency of accidents is below the average of Denmark’s construction industry, with just 19 minor accidents over two years. (DR - DR BYEN, Denmark)
  • A ready-assembled scaffolding system that is lifted into position and dismantled by crane, reducing the risks of falls when it is put up and taken down: The system, which is largely assembled at ground level, also includes integrated guard rails and other safety devices. (Doka Schalungstechnik GmbH, Austria)
  • A competition to encourage companies to use a simple health and safety monitoring system on construction sites: Previously only 1-in-4 of the companies that participated in this scheme had a safety level in excess of 75%. Since the competition was launched the proportion has risen to 3-in-4. (Rakennusteollisuus RT Uudenmaan piiri, Finland)
  • The development of a novel extraction system to reduce workers’ exposure to hazardous crystalline silica dust when removing road surfaces: The device, which is fitted to a ‘road milling’ machine, has reduced exposure rates to levels significantly below the Maximum Accepted Concentration for respirable crystalline silica. The system was co-developed by the manufacturer, customers and staff. (Nederlandse Frees Maatschappij BV (Freesmij), Netherlands)
  • The publication of ‘The Silent Book’, a range of health and safety promotional materials that only use pictures to convey relevant information to members of the construction industry: The book has no words and includes a specially created cartoon character. The absence of words means that the Silent Book can be used by other countries without incurring any translation costs. (NCC Construction Sverige AB, Sweden)
 
“This year’s European Week campaign has focused on the immense need to improve safety and health in the construction industry. Our good practice award competition demonstrates that ‘building in safety’ is possible and that it pays off, both in human and in financial terms. I would like to congratulate the award winners and thank them, as well as all other participants of this competition, for their innovative contributions to reduce accidents and ill-health in this important sector. One of the strengths of all these schemes is that they can be relatively easily transferred to other countries, enabling the European construction industry to make greater headway in improving its health and safety record,” says Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, the Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.  
 
END 

Further information

Further information on the closing event and the European Week 2004 can be found at http://osha.europa.eu/ew2004/closingevent/index_en.htm.  
 
A comprehensive press pack about the Agency’s campaign, Building in Safety, is available at http://osha.europa.eu/ew2004/news/press_releases/index_en.htm.  
 
European Week reports and fact sheets are available in the ‘information resources’ section of the European Week website at http://osha.europa.eu/ew2004 
 
Press contacts: 
Andrew Smith, email: smith@osha.europa.eu European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Tel: +34 94 479 57 33 
 
Other enquiries: 
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Gran Via 33, E-48009 Bilbao, Spain, email: information@osha.europa.eu, fax: +34 94 479 4383. 

Notes to editors

  1. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work was set up by the European Union to help meet the information needs in the field of occupational safety and health. Based in Bilbao, Spain, the Agency aims to improve the lives of people at work by stimulating the flow of technical, scientific and economic information between all those involved in occupational safety and health issues.
  2. The European Week for Safety and Health at Work, which has taken place during October 2004, is an information campaign designed to raise awareness and promote activities to make Europe a safe and healthy place to work. It is coordinated by the European Agency and ran in the Member States, EFTA and EU candidate countries in October 2004 with each country deciding the precise week. The European Week is aimed at the workplace and all safety and health institutions and organisations, trade unions, companies, managers, employees and safety representatives were invited to take part and organise their own activities.
  3. This is the fifth year of the awards, which come under the umbrella of the annual European Week for Safety and Health at Work. The examples are from 5 EU Member States and include small and medium-sized enterprises, large companies and intermediary organisations operating in very different sectors. The aim of the Agency initiative is to support the dissemination of good practice information about health and safety within Europe’s construction industry and to promote the application of ‘practical solutions’ in workplaces in Member States and across Europe.

List of commended awards

  • The Management and Workers from A. Frauenrath Bauunternehmen GmbH, GERMANY
  • UAB CONSTRUCTUS, LITHUANIA
  • ŽS Brno, a.s, CZECK REPUBLIC
  • Arcers Ltd, LATVIA
  • The REMAL Sp. z o.o. Repair Company, POLAND
  • Felton Construction Ltd & Interbrew UK Ltd, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Instituto das Estradas de Portugal, PORTUGAL