15 May 2009
The Mall, the UK's leading community shopping centre owner and operator, has won the Gold ROSPA Award for MallSafe, its health and safety management system - the first time a national mall operator has won the award for its entire portfolio.
MallSafe was developed by The Mall in conjunction with Preston City Council and was launched in 2006 at all The Mall's 20 shopping centres in order to improve reporting and to support compliance in Health and Safety management. It has been an overwhelming success and has delivered a safety culture across the whole business that is second to none.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) Awards recognise excellence in Occupational Health and Safety, rating individual projects over four levels - Merit, Bronze, Silver or Gold. Each year RoSPA, one of the world's most respected Health and Safety organisations, invites a wide range of companies and organisations across a large number of industries to submit entries outlining their approach to Health and Safety management.
The RoSPA Awards looks at a large number of indicators to assess each project and to achieve a Gold award The Mall had to demonstrate:
• Excellent occupational health and safety management systems (e.g. strong audit results - system used and level achieved [OHSAS 18001 or equivalent]) and culture (as demonstrated by answers to 10 Key Performance Questions)
• A rigorous approach to occupational health
• High levels of compliance with control measures (evidence from active monitoring of performance) for principal risks
• Below average and reducing rates of error (e.g. near misses), harm (accidents and work related ill health) and loss (e.g. accident and ill health costs)
• No fatal or major injuries due to employer negligence
• No significant enforcement issues (notices/prosecutions).
Kate Miles, The Mall's National Compliance Manager and responsible for the development of MallSafe, said of its success:
"We are delighted to have been once again recognised with RoSPA's Gold Award. The team has worked tirelessly over the last three years to incorporate MallSafe into our culture and we are now seeing some real benefits. We worked closely with our Lead Authority Partner, Preston City Council, on its further development to ensure we achieved the highest standards and we continue to do so to meet the challenges ahead."
