There is no such thing as ‘safe enough’ when you’ve got people’s lives in your hands – ‘safe enough’ just isn’t good enough. That’s according to Reg Barker, health, safety and facilities officer for Malvern-based Automated Packaging Systems.
Reg should know – he and colleague Alison Dockery have been the driving force behind a continued push to provide the safest working environment possible. Now that commitment is recognised with the news that Automated Packaging Systems has won the Bronze RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Award for 2008.
“We’ve always had an excellent safety record,” says Reg, who joined Automated Packaging Systems more than 20 years ago. “But that’s no reason to sit back and relax. It’s our job to make sure that people are safe when they come to work, and we take that very seriously.”
Entering for the award is a challenge in itself, according to Reg. “It took Alison and me a long time to gather together all the detail and evidence we needed for our entry. We’ve never tried for a RoSPA award before, so we were starting from scratch.
“We had to demonstrate the thought and commitment that has gone into ensuring our European Head Office and manufacturing site at Malvern is a safe and healthy place to be. And, of course, RoSPA wanted to know about our controls, procedures and monitoring – we needed to show them that safety is at the heart of everything we do here.”
Reg and Alison will receive the award from RoSPA at a ceremony in Birmingham in May. David Rawlins, RoSPA Awards Manager said: “Automated Packaging Systems Ltd has shown a commitment to protecting the health and well-being of its employees and others. We hope other businesses will follow its lead and strive for continuous improvement in health and safety management.”
Automated Packaging Systems General Manager, Peter Wylie, adds: “Health and safety plays a very important part in ensuring our day-to-day lives are as risk-free as possible. Those people who dedicate much of their time looking after the well-being of others are often taken for granted. It’s great to see these efforts earn such a high level of praise.”
But Reg Barker is not basking in the glow of praise; for him Bronze just isn’t good enough. “This is about the safety of my colleagues and the people who visit us here at our Malvern site. We want the safest environment possible, so we’re going after Gold. And when we get it, we’re going to keep it!”
