GE Door Manufacturing, based in Maestag, has won a national award from the British Woodworking Federation (BWF) for its ongoing commitment and development of health and safety practices in its factory.

Established in 1999, the doorset manufacturer won the prestigious Health & Safety Hero Award – sponsored by Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) – at the BWF Awards held in in London. The BWF Awards celebrate the best of the best in UK woodworking, recognising technical innovation, design, process efficiencies, health & safety and the rising stars of the industry.

GE Door Manufacturing has introduced a number of health and safety initiatives over the years. More recently, to monitor progress, the company introduced an innovative scoring outcome system and a near miss reporting system. The company also revisited all personal and machine-related risk assessments to ensure they still met the needs of users.

Helen Hewitt, Chief Executive of the BWF said:

“Congratulations to GE Door Manufacturing for championing health and safety within their factory. The judges were impressed by how detailed and evidenced the company’s action plan was – it’s clear that health and safety is integral to their culture. Tracking its initiatives to ensure success, the clear improvements in health and safety as well as reporting from the factory floor to senior management is a testament to how GE Door Manufacturing is striving to be the best it can be.

“The quality of the entries that we received this year was exceptional. The woodworking sector makes a significant contribution to the UK’s construction and manufacturing industries, and it’s fantastic to come together at the BWF Awards to champion the outstanding talent and achievement that make our industry so successful.”

Jason Pincombe, Managing Director at GE Door Manufacturing said,

“This award means a lot to our company and my colleagues have worked tirelessly over the last twelve months to get us ahead of our Health & Safety plan. We already had a good safety record and sometimes that can make it even harder to improve and I would like to thank them all for their commitment to the changes required. I am very passionate about health and safety, and proud of the culture change that has taken place within our business facilitated by our very own Phil Trebble.

“To be recognised by our own trade association is fantastic, the wood working industry is constantly changing however timber has been used within construction for thousands of years, and to think today we are manufacturing modern products such as Fire Resistant Doorsets from it, that can save lives and protect buildings, whilst improving the environment that we all live and work in is amazing. On top of that timber, from a certified and sustainable source is one of the most environmentally friendly materials used in the construction industry today.”

The prize was presented at a celebratory awards evening held at the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, London. A full list of the winners at this year’s BWF Awards can be found at: https://www.bwf.org.uk/awards2019/