WINNERS
13th Annual National Excellence in HSE Awards 2023
LINKAGE Q3 (2023) - LEARN, EMPOWER, SUSTAIN
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MCHAM T&T’s 13th Annual National Excellence in HSE Awards at a glitzy awards ceremony on Oct. 30th at the Hyatt Regency. The event honoured companies of all sizes and sectors for their achievements in HSE excellence.
The awards are distributed in four main categories:
• Excellence in HSE Award
• Most Improved OSH/Environment Performance
• Towards Business Resilience
• Outstanding HSE Project
Winners are selected in these categories based on their respective sectors.
This year’s National Excellence in HSE Awards featured a record-high number of submissions with 36 companies vying for the awards, and the largest number of companies advancing to the final stage with twenty-eight (28) companies selected as finalists in various categories.
AMCHAM T&T CEO Nirad Tewarie, who delivered the Welcome Remarks, said catalysing and celebrating the HSE culture change in Trinidad and Tobago came down to how we value and treat our people. “Let it never be forgotten that your employees are the backbone of your safety culture. Therefore, it’s about leaders adopting a set of deeply ingrained beliefs, values, and behaviours to prioritise the well-being of their employees.”
Celebrating the excellence in HSE leadership companies are demonstrating allowed for the bridging of gaps that exist and finding commonround on issues, he added. “It’s about leaders respecting their people enough to involve them at every step of the change process, which can ultimately lead to better outcomes and more effective solutions.”
HSE culture change was about establishing a culture that fully allows employees to share their input, freely engage in open dialogue with their
supervisors, and openly report safety concerns to avoid unnecessary accidents or emergencies.
“Initially, companies strengthened their safety arsenal through intense process safety measures to identify potential risks and hazards. Now, in addition to that, companies are also putting a sharp focus on placing priority on the mental health of their employees and the increased use of technology to advance their HSE operations.”
Tewarie praised companies on this stance and for evolving with the changing times to ensure that they remain people-centered across every aspect of their operations.
Meanwhile, The Honourable Stephen McClashie, Minister of Labour, reiterated the Government’s commitment to making safety and health a priority amongst the working population through recent legislative policy revisions and developments of the Occupational Safety and Health Authority and Agency. “A notable milestone of the Agency in this year was the public stakeholder consultation on the draft policy for the control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH), which took place in June.”
The Minister pointed out that during the fiscal year 2022-2023, notable statistics of OSHA included:
- 25 legal prosecutions.
- 15 reported fatal accidents.
- 51 reported critical accidents.
- 1226 reported non-critical accidents.
Additionally, to date, the Agency has recorded:
- 219 Fatalities Reported
- 596 Critical accidents Reported
- 13,172 Non-critical accidents reported
- 28,489 Inspections conducted
- 522 Prosecutions
- 964 Improvement notices issued
- 618 Prohibition notices issued
Minister Mc Clashie also reaffirmed the government’s unwavering dedication to maintaining a knowledgeable and welltrained workforce at OSHA in the field of safety and health. In October 2022, the Minister reported that OSHA conducted an Accident Investigation Report Writing Workshop to enhance report-writing standards at the Agency and improve the quality and accuracy of accident reports. 
Furthermore, the OSH Agency facilitated the enrolment of 10 Safety and Health Inspectors in the “Explosives and Blasting Engineering for the Quarry Industry” course hosted by the University of Trinidad and Tobago to enhance their expertise and contribute to the safer operation of the quarry industry.
Looking ahead to the fiscal year 2023-2024, the OSH Agency plans to host a public stakeholder consultation on the draft policy for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). This event will provide a platform for valuable input and feedback from all stakeholders in our commitment to ensuring the safety and health of our workforce.
The National Excellence in HSE Awards have been officially endorsed by the Ministry of Labour since 2011. Click the link for the full list of Winners from the 13th Annual National Excellence in HSE Awards.