Wednesday, May 30, 2007

HSfB Wins Fife Regional Council Shield - Press Release

HSfB Wins Fife Regional Council Shield - Press Release

HSfB Wins Fife Regional Council Shield

John Johnston, creator of the website Health and Safety for Beginners (HSfB) - www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk, has had his commitment and passion for health and safety recognised after being awarded the Fife Regional Council Shield for his safety innovation. The award was presented by Dr Karen McDonnel from RoSPA at a ceremony held at the Dunfermline Building Society, during the annual general meeting of the Fife Chamber of Safety (now known as Safety Group - Fife) on Monday 14 May. The trophy was awarded to John for his web site initiative which provides many free tools for health and safety professionals and learning materials for students across the UK and internationally through downloads, discussion forums and a unique prize draw.

Speaking of the award, John said: “This is the second award in as many months and I am absolutely delighted to have won the Fife Shield. Safety Group - Fife is a big part of my life now and I am extremely proud to have been recognised by the group for this award."

Other awards at the AGM went to:

  • UDV Shield - Exxon Mobil
  • Raithian Quaich - Dryburgh Associates
  • Nairn Trophy - Fife Council Intervention Team
  • A special award was made to Sam Dimeck in recognition of his long service and recognition to the Chamber over the last 20 years.

John added: “after suffering a serious back injury in 2000 and knowing how difficult it was to fund my own NEBOSH general certificate training, I wanted to find a way in which I could help others develop a career in health and safety. Thanks to the website, and the generosity of the training providers and professionals who donated the prizes, this has been achieved.”

The training materials were given away as part of a free prize draw which featured on John’s website Health and Safety for Beginners (HSfB) - www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk The winners were announced at the Leicester-based headquarters of the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health; NEBOSH in February 2007.

View our press release on the prize draw here - Health and Safety for Beginners Prize Draw Results

View our press release on John's first award here - HSfB Wins Lord Cullen Trophy for Safety Innovation

Donations for the prize draw came from health and safety training providers after they found out about an initiative John launched in November 2006, which saw him personally fund a prize (using money gained from selling advertising space on his website www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk) for a site user to undertake a NVQ level 4.

Hugely impressed with John’s commitment and dedication to improving health and safety in the workplace, training providers soon stepped forward and offered a variety of different prizes to add to the draw including a range of NEBOSH e-learning training courses, residential training courses, guided tours of high performing organisations as well as reference materials so that more people could benefit.

The prizes and donating organisations were:

In total, John managed to raise over £7250 worth of training and learning resources, and over 350 training hours (not including the NVQ) which had the potential for 17 lucky health and safety professionals to take their career to the next level.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

HSfB Wins Lord Cullen Trophy for Safety Innovation - Press Release

HSfB Wins Lord Cullen Trophy for Safety Innovation - Press Release

HSfB Wins Lord Cullen Trophy for Safety Innovation

John Johnston, Health and Safety Advisor at FMC Technologies, Dunfermline and a member of the Fife Chamber of Safety has had his commitment and passion for Health and Safety recognised after being awarded the Lord Cullen Trophy for Safety Performance. The award was presented by Lord Cullen, president of the Scottish Chamber of Safety (S.C.O.S), at a ceremony held in Dunblane, by the S.C.O.S on Wednesday 4th April. The trophy was awarded to John for an initiative which will see health and safety professionals from across the UK benefit from free health and safety training and learning materials.

Speaking of the award, John said: “I am absolutely delighted to have won the Lord Cullen trophy for safety innovation. It was something that had never crossed my mind when I first started my website www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk. I am also very proud to bring the trophy back to the Fife Chamber of Safety for another year.

After suffering a serious back injury in 2000 and knowing how difficult it was to fund my own NEBOSH general certificate training, I wanted to find a way in which I could help others develop a career in health and safety. Thanks to the website, and the generosity of the training providers and professionals who donated the prizes, this has been achieved.”

Speaking of John’s work, David Currie, Managing Director of FMC Technologies said: “John is absolutely deserving of this award and I, on behalf of FMC congratulate him. Health and Safety is at the core of everything we do and we fully appreciate John’s expertise and contribution in this area. His personal commitment is an example to us all.”

The training materials were given away as part of a free prize draw which featured on John’s website Health and Safety for Beginners - www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk The winners were announced at the Leicester-based headquarters of the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health; NEBOSH in February 2007.

View our press release on the prize draw here - Health and Safety for Beginners Prize Draw Results

Donations for the prize draw came from health and safety training providers after they found out about an initiative John launched in November 2006, which saw him personally fund a prize (using money gained from selling advertising space on his website www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk) for a site user to undertake a NVQ level 4.

Hugely impressed with John’s commitment and dedication to improving health and safety in the workplace, training providers soon stepped forward and offered a variety of different prizes to add to the draw including a range of NEBOSH e-learning training courses, residential training courses, guided tours of high performing organisations as well as reference materials so that more people could benefit.

The prizes and donating organisations were:

In total, John managed to raise over £7250 worth of training and learning resources, and over 350 training hours (not including the NVQ) which had the potential for 17 lucky health and safety professionals to take their career to the next level.

Asked about what he is going to do next, John said: “More of the same next year, if my nerves can stand it”.

Pictured above – John Johnston holding
the Lord Cullen Trophy at FMC Technologies, Dunfermline