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The new CDM regulations have put design to the forefront of reducing risk on site, which makes the work done by companies like this years winner, Buro Happold, all the more important

Buro Happold

Buro Happold is a company that aims to instil a sense of safety awareness in its employees from a young age. It has developed a comprehensive health and safety training programme for its graduate students, emphasising and raising awareness of the importance of design in reducing risks on site. The company sees the benefit, too: employees from graduate level upwards are able to prove their proficiency in working within the CDM regulations and adapting to other regulatory changes, helping to make the designer a first choice for clients where safety is concerned.

AMEC

Over the past year, Amec has developed and implemented LIFE, a comprehensive behavioural safety programme. The scheme, which stands for Looking to an Incident-Free Environment, aims to change behaviour at work and even at home so that safe behaviour becomes a way of life from the managing director down. And the programme has yielded results: in 2006, more than 90% of Amecs projects achieved zero reportable accidents.

Skanska Technology

Skanskas approach is to go well beyond minimum legal requirements, driving safety into every aspect of the companys work. The design arm of the Swedish contractor, Skanska Technology, recognises it is well placed to improve safety performance through its design of facilities, and makes effective use of CAD to push through a culture of safety on the design of both permanent and temporary works.

WSP

WSP compares its approach to safety to the training of a sprinter who is coached to maintain maximum speed 10 yards past the finish line. The analogy is well justified, and WSPs work in reducing the safety risk that can result from its designs for years of users to come has received warm appreciation from the top levels of the industry. In 2006 the company was the only consultant invited to be a member of the BAA safety leadership delivery team, and the WSP UK health and safety adviser was seconded to the Health and Safety Executive for three months to assist with the implementation of CDM 2007.