WorkSafe Victoria 2008 safety awards

The Worksafe Victoria annual safety awards were held 30 October at the Crown Palladium with 900 people attending to recognise the achievements of companies and individuals in promoting safety in  the workplace. Eight winners were selected from 25 finalists, who had been chosen from the 134 entries submitted this year.

WorkSafe Victoria’s executive director (Health and Safety) John Merritt, said this year’s award recipients had made outstanding contributions, not only to improving the safety of their colleagues, but the wider community: “The commitment to workplace health and safety we see every year through these awards gives us a real buzz. It’s great to see our messages getting through and being embraced by so many.

“Each finalist and award recipient should be extremely proud of their efforts. By making safety an integral part of what they do, in our eyes they’re all winners. Through their innovation, commitment and leadership they’re helping us achieve the important goal of making Victoria a safer place to work.”

The winners were:

• Health and Safety Representative of the Year — joint recipients:
  Derek Jones — OTIS Elevator Company
  William B Thomson — Department of Human Services, Melbourne Youth Justice Centre
• Health and Safety Committee of the Year — Kmart Supply Chain
• Best Design for Workplace Safety — Toll Autologistics-Vehicles in partnership with J Smith & Sons
• Best Health and Safety Initiative for Small Business — Bill Grant Engineering
• Best Solution for Preventing Musculoskeletal Disorders — Toll in2store & Layer Tech Pty Ltd
• Best Solution to a Health and Safety Risk — Smarter Safer Solutions
• Best Strategy for Health and Safety Management — Nestlé Uncle Tobys