The UK
The SME Assistance Trophy recognises the most outstanding contribution made by a trade association or similar body to providing health and safety assistance to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). The SME Assistance Trophy is presented annually as part of the RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards.
Martin Isles, director health and safety MPA, said “MPA’s membership is a ‘broad church’. As such, we strive hard to satisfy all members, particularly in the field of developing demonstrable personal competence. This necessitates the crafting of our policies and initiatives in ways that are attainable, sufficiently flexible and above all provide challenge and leadership in our relentless drive towards Zero Harm.”
The entry which won MPA the SME Assistance Award covered several health and safety activities which the association is involved with, but focussed in particular on MPA’s family of ‘Safer by...’ initiatives.
MPA arranges seven regional meetings across the UK three times a year, and last year and this year, each region has a dedicated Safer by Sharing H&S Seminar, led by the region’s SME chairman, with expert speakers from member companies.
Safer by Association is MPA’s site audit based initiative, with product-specific extensions, developed specifically for SME members and is a free service to MPA members, while the Safer by Competence policy initiative is designed to achieve demonstrable evidence that the whole footprint of industry as represented by the MPA is able to prove progressively its achievement of full competency-assurance, within a succession of target deadlines.
To assist progress, MPQC has offered free advice to MPA members (principally SMEs) to map their job functions to the relevant National Occupational Standards.
In addition, MPA facilitates a health and safety ‘mentoring’ service, whereby a member company that requests assistance with H&S is put in touch with the required expertise.
MPA’s global Safer by Design voluntary best practice guidance advises the minimum acceptable ranges of safety features for new and re-engineered mobile plant.
The SME Assistance Trophy was presented to MPA by Lord Jordan of Bournville, RoSPA president, and Tom Mullarkey, RoSPA chief executive, at the RoSPA Awards ceremony .
MPA’s Safer by... family of Initiatives has also, separately, been shortlisted for a
This year the RoSPA Awards attracted nearly 2,000 entries overall.
