Four Network Rail Infrastructure Projects delivery teams have won the prestigious Sword of Honour award from the British Safety Council.

Network Rail was one of 64 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.

The four teams - S&C North alliance, S&C South alliance, Plain line track renewals and High output track renewals - were each awarded five stars in the British Safety Council’s health and safety management audit scheme in the period August 2015 – July 2016, which enabled them to compete for the Sword of Honour.  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 trackbed to the boardroom.

Mark Carne, chief executive, Network Rail, said “It’s a real team effort to deliver safety results of this standard and I would like to personally thank the teams for the sheer determination to achieve this high status in just over a year.

There will be many people positively impacted by the steps they have introduced. We continually see that safety and performance go hand in hand, so not only will more people return home safely from work, but our customers will also benefit through our enhanced delivery performance.”

Mike Robinson, chief executive of the British Safety Council, said: “Leadership is a key factor in achieving excellence. You can legislate for compliance, but you have to inspire people towards excellence. The winners of the Sword of Honour and Globe of Honour Awards are exemplars of best practice and all have inspirational stories to tell about their journey towards achieving these accolades. These stories will inspire other organisations to follow their lead and move all employers towards our vision that no-one should be injured or made ill at work.”