MWH Treatment wins at the water ‘Oscars’

MWH Treatment has focused on creating a behavioral safety culture within its design teams to support and compliment the more conventional on-site safety practices during construction. This led to the development of a ‘Behavioral Health and Safety in Design’ initiative, which won the ‘Health and Safety Initiative of the Year’ recognition at the Water Industry Awards this past May.

The initiative was born from an exercise Severn Trent Water undertook with us relating to the granular analysis of health and safety incidences that could have occurred as a result of design deficiencies.

Adapting the findings to our own practices, MWH Treatment developed a system aimed at establishing personal ownership of safety in design. This initiative, relayed via a series of presentations, has enabled the sharing of experiences on health and safety in design across the Severn Trent Water supply chain, thereby contributing to more and better engagement with site operators, supply chain, and construction staff during the design process.

The judges were impressed by this scheme saying, “It shows how health and safety can be brought to the start of the process into the design team and in so doing make things better for everyone. It is a sensible approach and one that deserves to win”.

Paul Bresnan, MWH Treatment Managing Director for UK Core Water comments, “It is truly fantastic to win this award and to raise the profile of behavioral safety in design. Working on this initiative with Severn Trent Water has enabled MWH Treatment to roll it out right across our supply chain ensuring we are more effective in the prevention of accidents and injuries.”