Sword of Honour Awarded to Unipart Rail organisation

Unipart Rail has won a prestigious Sword of Honour from the British Safety Council.

We were one of 61 organisations worldwide that achieved a Sword of Honour, which is awarded to companies which have demonstrated excellence in the management of health and safety risks at work. This builds on our 2017 achievement, when three of our sites were audited and won Swords. Now all Unipart Rail sites are covered.

In order to compete for the Sword of Honour, an organisation first had to achieve the maximum five stars in the British Safety Council’s health and safety management audit scheme in the period August 2017 – July 2018. They have also demonstrated to an independent panel of experts that they are excellent in their health and safety management throughout the business – from the shop floor to the boardroom.

Steve Clayton, Unipart Rail Operations Director said "This award is a testament to everyone in Unipart Rail, all of whom recognise the importance of safety in the workplace. Our Crewe site now has 1000 days without a RIDDOR, and our Doncaster sites over 2000 - a fantastic achievement. We are thrilled to accept this award."

Unipart Group Wns

Unipart was one of 61 organisations worldwide that achieved a Sword of Honour, which is awarded to companies which have demonstrated excellence in the management of health and safety risks at work. This award is recognised as the pinnacle of achievement in the world of health and safety management. The company now has amassed a total of over 50 Swords of Honour over eight years. Last year, Unipart received an Outstanding Achievement Award for Safety at the International Safety Awards in recognition that they are the only organisation in the world to have achieved the Sword and Globe of Honour awards for five consecutive years.

For the first time, MetLase, the joint venture between Unipart and Roll-Royce, achieved the Sword of Honour.  MetLase is a mechanical engineering company that uses advanced tooling and fixturing technologies to bring lead times of months down to just days. The award is a significant achievement as MetLase is less than three years old.

Unipart was also one of only 29 organisations worldwide presented with a Globe of Honour, which is awarded to companies which have demonstrated excellence in environmental management. Unipart credits its success to The Unipart Way, the company’s proprietary business system for continuous improvement that is used by Unipart sites worldwide. The Unipart Way is a major contributor to the company’s safety record as well as increases in productivity.

Unipart Chairman and Group Chief Executive John Neill said: “The Unipart Way provides the company with a complete ecosystem for continuous improvement that enables us to aspire to world class performance in everything that we do. This extends to health and safety and environmental management. Across our Group of Companies, our colleagues have created the safest places to work and introduced sustainable processes that continue to deliver benefits for our company and for our clients.”

Lawrence Waterman, Chairman of the British Safety Council, said: “On behalf of the board of trustees and staff of the British Safety Council I would like to congratulate Unipart on achieving the very highest standards of health, safety and environmental management.  Excellence at this level is very hard won. We are proud to have supported you in your achievements, and I am delighted that you have chosen to celebrate with us today.”

Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, added: “I would like to congratulate the winning organisation and its staff for their huge commitment to keeping their workplace safe and healthy and minimising risks to the environment from their organisations’ day-to-day activities. All of the Sword and Globe winning organisations share a commitment and resolve to achieve the highest standards of health, safety and/or environmental management. We are delighted that they are partners in helping achieve our vision that no-one should be injured or made ill at work.”

The 2018 Sword of Honour winners were:

• Unipart Rail
• MetLase - Catcliffe
• Unipart Group - Waterstones
• Unipart Logistics - Magna Park
• Unipart Logistics won the Globe of Honour in addition to the Sword of Honour.