News & Media > Awards
2008 - another award-winning year
2008 was another amazing year on the awards front - with no fewer than 23 major wins. In this feature we review some of the highlights.
Quality in Construction (QIC) Awards
We were successful with one win and one commendation at the prestigious Quality in Construction (QIC) Awards on 31 March.
Competition for the QIC Awards is fierce - and even getting onto the short list is a major achievement. That's why it was such an achievement to win the Project Safety Award for the Attleborough A11 Bypass, which was successfully completed for the Highways Agency. The judges described the project as 'an excellent illustration of how safety management should be applied on site - this project ticked all the boxes'.
RoSPA H&S Awards
2008 was the fourth consecutive year we’ve managed a RoSPA Gold Award – a remarkable achievement.
The awards are not just about reducing accidents and ill health at work - they help ensure organisations have good health and safety management systems in place.
We were presented with our award at a ceremony in Birmingham on 14 May.
Water Industry Achievement Awards
We enjoyed success at the Water Industry Achievement Awards on 21 May.
Having been short-listed in three categories, we won the Health & Safety Initiative Award for our MAD (Making A Difference) behavioural change programme. MAD has played a big part in our success in driving down our accident frequency rate (AFR) from 0.5 in 2005 to 0.16 – making May Gurney one of the safest places to work in construction and engineering.
JUNE
Training Journal Awards
Having achieved a record breaking three short listings, we beat off stiff competition to win the Best change management programme at the Training Journal Awards on 24 June.
The award was for our TIPS for Good Management Programme, which was described by the judges as 'a well thought out programme designed to support the business strategy...good clear concept linked to objectives with clearly defined outcomes'.
Callum Macnab, a customer liaison officer working on the South West Water (SWW) Mains Rehabilitation Programme, received a Pure Service Award in recognition of his excellent work with SWW’s customers.
One customer, Mr Herring of the Blue Hayes Hotel in St Ives, said: “The support and service we are receiving from Callum Macnab has been excellent and I must express my thanks to both SWW and May Gurney for the service received while these essential works are carried out.”
JULY
We were thrilled to receive the prestigious Team Contribution Award at the Network Rail Environmental Awards ceremony on 3 July.
The award was for the formation of a dedicated in-house team to tackle the environmental challenges faced in the work we deliver for Network Rail. The team undertakes surveys in-house to deliver cost and time savings for Network Rail; develops and delivers in-house environmental awareness training; and works with - not against - statutory bodies.
QPA Restoration Awards
Ayton Products, our surfacing products business, enjoyed success at the QPA Restoration Awards ceremony on 3 July.
The prestigious QPA Restoration Awards are given for outstanding achievement in quarry restoration. The award was for work we carried out to restore Lynford Pit prior to handing back the site. The award was made to Ayton Products, the Forestry Commission and land agent PDE Consulting.
Environment Agency Project Exemplar Award
Team Van Oord, a partnership between Van Oord, May Gurney and Mackley Construction, won the first Project Exemplar Award to be presented by the Environment Agency (EA).
The award was for the health and safety record at the Flexbury Flood Defence Scheme in north Cornwall.
SEPTEMBER
In partnership with Network Rail and Mott MacDonald, we won the Civil Engineering Achievement of the Year category at the 2008 National Rail Awards ceremony on 18 September.
The award was for the structural refurbishment of the iconic High Level Bridge (HLB), a Network Rail 'Major Structure'.
The judges praised the project for its close teamwork and innovation and were particularly impressed by the 'meticulous planning and execution which ensured that the rail services were never disrupted while the bridge was cloaked in 1,600 tonnes of scaffolding'.
Aim Investment Awards
Having been short-listed for two categories in the AIM Investment Awards, which were presented in London on 16 October, we were proud to be named winner of the Best Communication category.
We impressed the judges with our totally integrated approach to communications encompassing the annual report, regulatory statements, the investor section of our website and face-to-face presentations.
South West Water Supplier Awards
We enjoyed success at the South West Water Supplier Awards on 7 October, winning the Pure Service category for a water mains replacement project in the historic Barbican area of Plymouth.
The Pure Awards recognise suppliers that help to achieve South West Water’s vision of delivering Pure Water, Pure Service and a Pure Environment.
Green Apple Awards (x 2)
We were presented with two 2008 Green Apple Awards at a ceremony at the House of Commons on 10 November.
The awards were for Environment Champions, our internal campaign to reduce the amount of waste we produce and power we consume; and for completing our first ‘waste neutral’ scheme at Heacham in Norfolk, which was carried out by the Norfolk Strategic Partnership (NSP).
The Green Apple Awards recognise environmental best practice, and award-winning projects feature in the Green Book, the world’s only work of reference on environmental best practice.
Historic Bridges and Infrastructure Award
On 13 November we picked up yet another prestigious award for the refurbishment and strengthening of the iconic High Level Bridge in Newcastle upon Tyne.
This latest accolade, in the 2008 Historic Bridge and Infrastructure Awards, was presented at a ceremony at the ICE Headquarters in London.
The judges described the project as ‘an exemplar of how to tackle a significant historic structure using existing technologies and significant engineering knowledge and craftsmanship’.
ASLEC Awards
For the second successive year, an employee from Cartledge, our specialist street lighting business, was named Employee of the Year in the ASLEC (Association of Signals, Lighting and other highway Electrical Contractors) Industry Awards.
Keith Bean won this prestigious category at the 2008 ASLEC Awards, which were presented at the Celtic Manor Resort, Newport in Wales on 27 November.
National Railway Heritage Awards
On 3 December the High Level Bridge (HLB) strengthening and refurbishment project in Newcastle upon Tyne has won its FOURTH award in the past 12 months.
The latest win, the Firstgroup Craft Skills Award, was presented at the National Railway Heritage Awards ceremony.
The project has also been put forward for the Europa Nostra Award, which will be presented in Italy in June 2009.
NJUG Awards
Along with our customer South Staffs Water, we were delighted to win the Partnership Award at the inaugural NJUG Awards ceremony on 2 December. The NJUG (National Joint Utilities Group) Awards recognise, promote and reward best practice within the street works industry and encourage utilities to work together and in partnership with local authorities to minimise disruption.
We won the Partnership Award for a joint occupation scheme at Kinver, Staffordshire.
South West Water Pure Environment Award
May Gurney employee Martin Childs was awarded a Pure Environment Award by our customer South West Water (SWW).
Martin won the award for his outstanding work in dealing with a pollution incident at Yelland in North Devon. He was also highly praised by the Environment Agency for his commitment to preserve the environment and the reputation of May Gurney and South West Water.
Quality Awards
25 Environmental Services’ employees were recognised in the annual Quality Awards organised by one of the UK’s largest newsprint manufacturers.
The awards are organised by Aylesford Newsprint, our major customer for the newspapers and magazines we collect through our kerbside collection contracts and Household Waste Recycling Centres we operate on behalf of our local authority customers.
The awards were presented to representatives from our recycling teams in Somerset, Bath and North-East Somerset, Doncaster, Barnet, Hackney and Ealing.
News archive
Public Sector
Regulated Sector
Other News
