IQ announces Northern Ireland shortlist for Excellence Awards

The 2904 Institute of Quarrying (IQ) has announced the Northern Ireland finalists for its 2019 IQ Excellence Awards.

The winners will be revealed at the annual ‘Stonecrushers Ball’ taking place at the Europa Hotel, Belfast on Friday 25 October 2019.

The IQ Excellence Awards celebrate the exceptional achievements in the mineral products sector across regions in the UK with award presentations taking place in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England. Each regional award winner automatically goes forward to the national excellence awards to compete for the overall national title in each category, which will take place at 427 Hillhead 2020.

Recognising the commitment to continuing professional development, the inaugural IQ Awards categories are aligned to the different quadrants of the IQ Skills Wheel. The shortlist for Northern Ireland is:

STANDARDS & PROFESSIONALISM
Best Personal Development Project
Whitemountain (part of 894 Breedon Group) - HR Essential Skills Workshop
Quinn Building Products - Quinn Safety Hub

KNOWLEDGE & INNOVATION
Most Effective Process Improvement
3652 Terex Corporation - OMNI: Jobsite Connectivity and Efficiency
3702 CDE Global Ltd - SmartTech Pilot Study

ENGAGEMENT, INFLUENCE & IMPACT
Most Inspirational Leader
Gordon Best - 867 MPA Northern Ireland Regional Director
Kieran Hegarty – President 6502 Terex Materials Processing Division

PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
Most Promising Future Leader
Pierce Kirwan - Quarry Manager, Northstone Materials
Ryan Reid - Graduate Mechanical Engineer, Roadstone

James Thorne, IQ chief executive officer and one of the 10 judges, commented: “The IQ Awards is all about celebrating excellence of individuals, teams and projects in the industry.”

The judging panel for the IQ Excellence Awards is made up of professionals across the mineral products sector: Levi Hamilton MIQ - director at Delabole Slate; Steve Cole FIQ - MD of Emerald Mineral Development; Andy Morris FIQ - chartered mining engineer with over 49 years’ experience in aggregate and associated industries; Iain Smith FIQ - regional health, safety & environmental manager at 868 Tarmac; Wayne Darwin MIQ - assurance and governance manager at Tarmac; Katie Barrett Associate - national skills and safety park trainer, Tarmac; Colin Mew FIQ - HM Principal Inspector at 2938 Health and Safety Executive; Dr Rob Donnelly FIQ – former senior lecturer and programme leader at the 5034 University of Derby Centre for Mineral Products; James Thorne - IQ CEO; Julian Smallshaw - IQ head of education and standards.