The American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago (AMCHAM T&T) hosted a virtual ceremony to commemorate the 10th Annual National Excellence in HSE Awards to honour companies in T&T who have demonstrated HSE excellence and leadership in their operations.
Nirad Tewarie, AMCHAM T&T CEO, said the awards, which were endorsed by the Ministry of Labour in 2011 and recognised as a National Award, represented a great partnership between Government and AMCHAM T&T towards promoting HSE standards in T&T. “It is our considered view that this partnership support speaks not only to the laudable nature of the program but is a powerful statement by Government of its recognition of the need to improve national HSE standards in order to ensure that HSE excellence becomes a way of life for all our citizens.”
This year, the National HSE Awards which was held on Day Three of AMCHAM T&T’s 24th Annual HSSE Conference & Exhibition held greater significance due to the ongoing pandemic which has pushed the issue of health and safety as a major concern, not just for companies but also for citizens and countries alike. Over the past seven months, many businesses have been forced to close or leapfrog their operations to digital platforms while ensuring stricter health and safety measures to protect their employees and to maintain business continuity during this pandemic.
In this context, AMCHAM T&T recognizes the value and importance of effective HSSE leadership by companies. Tewarie said when organisations make investments in HSE policies and processes it creates a safety culture than extends beyond the company. “Organisations which emphasise high levels of HSE performance in their operations demand higher standards of HSE performance from their contractors, service providers and support systems, thereby ensuring the broadening and deepening of best practices, including caring for and strengthening the resilience of fence line communities.”
“If there is anything we learnt during the course of the Conference, is that true HSE success will only come when HSE is a value and safety leadership is authentic. Designing policies without leadership and the development of culture will not give you stellar safety results. In that regard, we are elated to see so many companies improving their safety cultures and therefore getting better results, but also seeing companies improve their safety culture from year to year.”
With companies placing a high priority on health and safety measures because of the ongoing pandemic, AMCHAM T&T’s National HSE Awards saw a record number of companies participating in the awards this year. Therefore the judges made the decision to expand the Award scheme to include the new category: Business Continuity: Surviving the Pandemic Award - as a means to highlight the safety measures companies would have implemented to protect their employees and customers.
WINNERS OF AMCHAM T&T’s National HSE Awards 2020 are:
Outstanding OSH/Environment Project 2020
Awards Criteria: The company engaged on a significant project, or “first steps”, on the journey towards achieving HSE excellence. The company demonstrated that its Project entailed the implementation of several of the key elements of formal HSE management systems, i.e. elements of Planning, Risk Management, Implementation or execution, Monitoring and Measurement, Handling Nonconformities, and/or Continual Improvement, OR that the Project addressed systems for building a positive HSE organizational culture, AND that the Project contributed to overall positive Occupational Safety and Health, and/or Environmental Results.
- Outstanding OSH/Environment Project - Energy and Manufacturing Sector - Small/Medium: The National Energy Corporation of Trinidad & Tobago
- Outstanding OSH/Environment Project - Non-Energy and Non-Manufacturing Sector - Small/Medium: Total Convenience Management Limited
- Outstanding OSH/Environment Project - Non-Energy and Non-Manufacturing Sector - Large: Caribbean Bottlers Limited
Most Improved HSE Performance
Awards Criteria: This company has embarked on the journey of implementing company-wide HSE Management Systems and has successfully implemented the system as a whole, or major elements of it, AND has achieved a trend of significant improvement in their HSE performance in year 2019, and over the 2 previous years as a minimum. The Award looks for evidence that a strong foundation has been set for building excellence in the near future
- Most Improved OSH/Environment Performance - Non-Energy and Non-Manufacturing Sector - Small/Medium: Total Convenience Management Limited
- Most Improved OSH/Environment Performance - Non-Energy and Non-Manufacturing Sector - Large: Trinidad Cement Limited
BCP Special Award – Business Continuity and Surviving the Pandemic 2020 (Honourable mention)
Awards Criteria: Special Award, while not the winner of this category, the company qualified for the receipt of the BCP Special Award-Business Continuity and Surviving the Pandemic 2020 Award. The company is recognised for the excellent job that it has done in managing its business response to the interruptions caused by COVID-19 to ensure operational resiliency. The company has implemented a strong Risk Management Plan, Business Impact Analysis, Incident Response Plan and Recovery Plan.
- Business Continuity Planning & Surviving the Pandemic (BCP) - Energy and Manufacturing Sector - Small/Medium: The National Energy Corporation of Trinidad & Tobago
- Business Continuity Planning & Surviving the Pandemic (BCP) - Energy and Manufacturing Sector - Large: The National Gas Company of Trinidad & Tobago
- Business Continuity Planning & Surviving the Pandemic (BCP) - Non-Energy and Non-Manufacturing Sector - Small/Medium: Amaranth Business Solutions Limited
- Business Continuity Planning & Surviving the Pandemic (BCP) - Non-Energy and Non-Manufacturing Sector - Large: Nestle Trinidad & Tobago Limited
- Business Continuity Planning & Surviving the Pandemic (BCP) - Energy and Manufacturing Sector - Small/Medium: Trinity Exploration and Production Services Limited - Honourable Mention
Excellence in HSE Award 2020
Awards Criteria: The Company has earned the premier award, the category of ‘Excellent HSE Performance’. This company has established a strong HSE Management Systems AND has achieved excellent occupational health and safety, and Environmental Results. The awardee will serve as a paragon of HSE Excellence in practice and will go on to share their Success Stories with companies within the AMCHAM T&T Membership and beyond, so that we all can firstly believe that impeccable occupational safety and health, and environmental performance records can be achieved and maintained over the years, and we can learn best practices and how to overcome the practical challenges.
- Excellence in HSE - Non-Energy and Non- Manufacturing Sector - Small/Medium: Bristow Caribbean Limited
- Excellence in HSE - Energy and Manufacturing Sector - Large: Nestle Trinidad & Tobago Limited
- Excellence in HSE - Non-Energy and Non-Manufacturing Sector - Large: Massy Technologies InfoCom (Trinidad) Ltd.
- Excellence in HSE - Non-Energy and Non-Manufacturing Sector - Large: ANSA MCAL – ANSA MOTORS - Honourable Mention
- Excellence in HSE - Non-Energy and Non- Manufacturing Sector - Small/Medium: TCM - Honourable Mention
AMCHAM T&T would like to congratulate all the WINNERS of the National HSE Awards 2020 and thank them for the leadership they have shown towards achieving HSE excellence in their safety measures and overall business operations. AMCHAM T&T would also like to thank BHP - (Title Sponsor) for their unwavering support since the inception of these awards. AMCHAM T&T extends our sincere gratitude to the HSE Awards Committee and the judges for their hard work by conducting virtual walkthroughs and interviews with employees and management of all companies that participated this year in the National HSE Awards 2020.
Through these awards and the Annual HSSE Conference and Exhibition, AMCHAM T&T continues to uphold and promote HSSE excellence as a key performance indicator towards business success and ensuring the safety and protection of all employees and citizens of our nation.
For further questions or comments please contact: Nirad Tewarie, CEO AMCHAM T&T at niradtewarie@amchamtt.com.