This year’s Safety & Health Excellence (SHE) Awards saw Siemens Mobility lauded for its focus on zero harm in the UK – with two individual awards, plus a highly commended accolade, scooped by the company.
HSEQ Director Louise Ward was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award, the equivalent of an industry Oscar, in recognition of her longstanding service to the safety industry. With experience in rail, utilities, government and manufacturing, gained over 25 years, Louise has been key in promoting professional health and safety across multiple industries. Her recent involvement in the Safety4Good initiative - developed by UK Health and Safety leaders to promote the industry through raising money, donating time and mentoring those early in the early stages of their careers - has also shaped the future of safety by attracting young people to the profession and developing the careers of the industry’s future leaders.
Retired Siemens Mobility EHS Manager, Richard Abbess, received the inaugural Unsung Hero Award for his outstanding contribution to upholding and improving safety standards. Over his 40-year career Richard built a reputation for his reliable and responsive leadership style and this award is a credit to his contribution to safety standards at Siemens Mobility.
Siemens Mobility’s Poole facility was also highly commended in the ‘Best Health and Safety for Manufacturing’ category for its safety behaviours cultural change programme driven by a daily ‘Gemba walk’. Gemba is Japanese for ‘the real place’ and the initiative, which follows the same route each day, highlights safety as the top priority at each workstation.
Following the awards, Siemens Mobility Limited CEO William Wilson said: “We are delighted to have been recognised so broadly in this year’s SHE awards.
“Nothing is more important than a focus on health, safety and wellbeing in a business. Whether that’s related to the work we do for, and with, customers and partners, or for our people as they carry out their tasks each day. I am incredibly proud of Louise and Richard for their contributions to upholding and flying the flag on the importance of safety standards. Both have shown great leadership qualities throughout their careers and they are a credit to the health and safety industry.”
Awards judge Nicole Vazquez stated: “Siemens Mobility has shown clear dedication to safety standards both as a collective and with individual initiatives. The organisation’s recognition at the awards is fitting given its continued day-to-day focus on keeping people and processes safe. Both Louise Ward and Richard Abbess deserve individual recognition for the part they have played in raising standards during their careers.”
