The Electrical Safety Roundtable is thrilled to announce the winners of the Above and Beyond Awards 2023.  We are delighted to be able to celebrate organisations and individuals who have gone above and beyond to enhance electrical safety within the workplace. 

It has been encouraging to see the variety of work, initiatives, and products included in this year’s entries. The judging panel has discussed and concluded the worthy winners which also include two Highly Commended awards.

The Paul Skyrme Electrical Safety Initiative of the Year Award 2023 - South Tyneside Homes for the Safe Isolation Procedure and Danger Notification - Diverting Neutral Current Update

The Electrical Safety Roundtable proudly named this award after the late Paul Skyrme, who was known as a true icon within the electrical industry. The South Tyneside Homes initiative updated its existing Safe Isolation Procedure to include crucial stages to test for diverting neutral currents and the associated dangers that may arise.

Through Toolbox Talks and face-to-face presentations, South Tyneside Homes has educated and provided operatives with a methodical strategy for testing for, and dealing with, the risks of diverting neutral currents.

The organisation has provided a solid foundation for understanding,diagnosing, and testing the diverted neutral current faults.

Judge Chris Pack said: “Congratulations to South Tyneside Homes for achieving this award, which follows on from their previous Above and Beyond Award success for another category in 2022. The impact statement within the nomination highlighted potential safety issues that had been picked up by this initiative.”

Product of the Year Award2023 – Guardian, matt:e Limited

The Guardian, which was launched in November 2023, is designed to monitor the electricity supply and electrical infrastructure of a property. Incorporating patented O-PEN ® technology, the Guardian detects faults and safely isolates, or warns of, potential faults before damage occurs.

 It is simply installed next to existing distribution boards and identifies issues such as loss of neutral and broken pen conductors. The alarm increases electrical safety by detecting faults,safely isolating them, or warning the building owner.

Judge Chris Pack said: “Congratulations to matt:e Limited for their development of the Guardian product which is designed to monitor electrical circuits and to detect a number of potential electrical faults, providing valuable safety alerts to building managers.”

Also on the judging panel, Louise Adamson added: “Congratulations from us to all of you at matt:e Limited and also a big thank you for what you are doing to improve safety around electrical networks.”

Changemaker of the Year Award 2023 – Mark Graham, Electrical Manager at Darlington Borough Council

Mark Graham has gone above and beyond the legal requirements for a social housing provider to improve compliance and is on track for 100% of housing properties to have a Domestic Electrical Condition Report (DEICR) dated within the last five years.  

Due to role changes, Mark saw potential to improve the effectiveness of how the electrical testing of their dwellings was carried out and made it his mission to ensure resources were dedicated to enhance electrical safety.

He was empowered to make this happen and on the ongoing journey to electrical safety has achieved incredible results. Mark has achieved a rapid turnaround in the percentage of their housing stock with a valid DEICR.

Judge Chris Pack said: “As the Electrical Manager at Darlington Borough Council, Mark’s achievement in developing and implementing a focused improvement program to achieve a rapid turnaround in the percentage of their housing stock with a valid Domestic Electrical Condition Report (DEICR) has been impressive over the past 12 months and is on course to reach 100% by the end of this year. Support from his colleagues, staff recruitment, a new centralised data system together with increased tenant engagement have been factors in achieving this success.”

The Derek Thompson Industry Service Award 2023 – Malcolm Duncan, the Managing Director at Super Rod

In honour of the late Derek Thompson, a strong advocate of enhancing electrical safety, the Derek Thompson Industry Service Award was created. Louise Adamson stepped out of the judging panel during the decision-making for this award to avoid any conflict of interest.

Malcolm Duncan has been crowned the award winner due to his commitment to raising awareness of safe isolation. Alongside the team at Super Rod, Malcolm has been dedicated to building a campaign regarding safe isolation procedures since 2018.

Malcolm highlighted Michael Adamson’s story and the importance of continuing to educate, promote safe isolation procedures and improve this particular area of electrical safety.  His aim is to ultimately get to a place where campaigns are not needed and the fundamental right of anyone going to work, to return home safely is the norm, whatever the environment.

Judge Chris Pack said: “The achievements made by Malcolm Duncan to promote Safe Isolation Practices to installers and wholesalers through his ongoing campaigns and education since 2018 has resulted in much greater awareness and engagement across the industry, with more contractors owning Safe Isolation equipment, together with greater availability of these items held by electrical wholesalers.”

Judge Charlotte Bamber said: “The judging panel had concluded that Malcolm has put a lot into trying to keep safe isolation at the forefront of the industry with workers, with contractors, with industry stakeholders.

“It’s really about his dedication and contribution around sharing Michaels's story as well as a number of different campaigns that really highlight that too many lives are lost each year due to something that could and should be prevented. Malcolm's commitment to keep the issue of safe isolation in the spotlight has to be commended and he’s a very worthy winner of this award.”

HighlyCommended Awards

Highly Commended Award for Product of the Year 2023 - Aico

Aico has been recognised for its Ei3030 Multi-Sensor Fire and Carbon Monoxide Alarm. The device consists of a thermistor heat sensor, an optical sensor and an electrochemical CO sensor. The Judges wished to acknowledge Aico for the Ei3030 Multi-Sensor Fire and Carbon Monoxide and enabling a safer way of working on electrical systems.

Judge Chris Pack said: “Aico's award application for their third-party accredited combined Multi-Sensor Fire and Carbon Monoxide alarm was deemed highly commended by the judges, demonstrating their electrical product design expertise in this field.”

Highly Commended Award for Change Maker of the Year Award 2023 - Bineesh Babu, Senior Manager at Mace

Bineesh Babu has significantly impacted electrical safety in the workplace through his strong leadership and proactive approach. Since taking charge in 2022, he has successfully implemented and maintained a robust electrical safety culture within Mace India Projects.

The Judges wished to recognise Bineesh Babu for the highly commended Changemaker of the Year Award for his efforts within the Mace Electrical Safety campaign.

Chris Pack said: “Congratulations to Bineesh Babu of Mace India Projects. The application and testimonial demonstrated a significant contribution and drive through his leadership and proactive approach supportingthe continuous improvement of electrical safety standards in the workplace.”

Judge Frank Bertie added: “All the information Bineesh provided as thesupporting documentation laid out the full process of the engagement with workers in India within the Mace program.

“Looking through the requirements they had to meet, the safety demonstrations, the safety equipment applied, and working to make sure all the processes are put in place so operatives can be safe when they carry out electrical work.”

The Electrical Safety Roundtable would like to thank all those who applied for the Above and Beyond Awards 2023, along with the judging panel for their work on deciding the worthy winners.