Immingham’s role at the heart of the North Sea maritime community has been highlighted with the hosting of a key event and major award wins.
DFDS Seaways UK has welcomed colleagues from across Europe to its inaugural Health, Safety, Security and Environment Conference, held at the Ashbourne Hotel in North Killingholme. It follows recognition for it and another Immingham team making a huge mark in the same sphere in the offshore wind industry.
The event was organised by the award-winning DFDS Seaways UK Safety and Risk Team, who are based at Immingham, and highlighted best practice. The agenda covered topics including risk management, contractor management, training, environmental measures, communications and personal protective equipment. Scores of delegates descended from Turkey, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
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Steve Price, director of health, safety, security and environmental management at DFDS Seaways, said: “We were delighted to welcome our DFDS colleagues to Immingham to share and discuss best practice, align common challenges and build relationships. This was the first event of its kind, and my vision is for this conference to be held annually and globally within the DFDS family.”
The conference followed national recognition for the DFDS Seaways UK Safety and Risk Team at Immingham. In September it won the CILT UK Awards for Excellence 2023 in the Health, Safety and Wellbeing category.
The judges said the award was presented to the DFDS team for “showing the effectiveness of their approach, giving a clear summary of the results and goals for the future.”
Andrew Byrne, managing director of DFDS Seaways, said: “The award reflects the hard work and passion of the team at DFDS Seaways UK. The safety journey we have been on during my time at DFDS Immingham has required everyone to accept a new culture and adapt to create a safe workplace for all. Safety is in our DNA and is the fabric of our organisation. I am extremely proud of our director, Steve Price, and his team for winning this major award. It is well deserved.”
RenewableUK success for Thrive
Outside of the port gates, and the past month has seen the Thrive Safety Leadership Centre win the RenewableUK Global Offshore Wind Awards’ ‘Gamechanger’ category.
Delivered by ATT for Orsted, it was described as an “exceptional innovation which has significantly impacted the offshore wind industry”.
An immersive character-led situation-based experience, with a team of nine professional actors, it was developed to on-board contractors and staff for the Hornsea Two build-out.
Andy Pearson, senior client project manager, spoke at The Waterline Summit. He said: “Three years ago we teamed up with Orsted to create Thrive, a safety partnership in an old warehouse in Immingham.
“We take people on a deep dive, an incredible immersive look at behaviour and communication. “We believe in safety, everyone is a leader, and we give them a toolkit to challenge gracefully. It started with Orsted, and is now a commercialised operation, working with 15 to 20 clients, including Siemens Gamesa, Equinor, Scottish Power and Tronox. It is set up for maritime and renewables, but that is a start line, a stepping off point for examination of workforce behaviours. It can change negative aspects of culture in an organisation.”
