Quinn’s Gerry Clancy Receives Recognition Award for Contribution to Health and Safety

Quinn’s Health and Safety Manager, Gerry Clancy, has recently been awarded an individual award in recognition of his exceptional contribution to health and safety in the industry at the Mineral Products Association Awards in London.

The MPA’s Health and Safety Awards are a prestigious celebration of best practice in improving health and safety within the sector, with awards presented to companies and individuals from across the UK.

In addition to Gerry’s individual award, Quinn were winners of the MPCQ trophy for Behavioural Safety, Safety Culture and Leadership.

Leading Example

This individual recognition award highlights Gerry’s achievement in driving forward health and safety standards and initiatives, not least of which is his significant contribution to the development of Quinn’s Safety Hub, a multi-award-winning digital innovation which has been recognised as a best practice example of health and safety management.

Gerry has also been instrumental in putting in place other leading industry developments, such as Quinn Precast’s bed saw enhancement project, which was developed to offer greater protection to saw operators and workers in the vicinity of the machinery.

With 840 Quinn employees and a great number of contractors, performing a diverse range of works both on site at Quinn premises and off site at numerous locations, the role of the Health and Safety Manager is a uniquely challenging one, which requires a wealth of knowledge and experience and a real commitment to worker safety, traits which Gerry demonstrates on a daily basis.

Gerry has been instrumental in initiating the attainment of many of Health and Safety related accreditations including CHAS, OHSAS 18001 and ISO 45001 Health and Safety Management Systems. He is a strong advocate of sharing best practice to enhance the safety of everyone in the industry, collaborating regularly with industry bodies and sharing experience and key learnings across the sector.

He is currently the Vice Chairman of the MPANI Health and Safety Committee and actively engages with HSENI regularly.

Speaking of Gerry’s recent recognition award, Quinn CEO, Liam McCaffrey, said,

“This is a very well-deserved award and we’re delighted to see Gerry receive acknowledgement from the industry for the great work he has been doing to improve health and safety standards.

He is a driving force behind the company’s commitment to a Safety-first culture and our move towards a Safer by Competence policy.

He continually advocates the adoption of the highest standards of health and safety throughout the organisation, promoting the ethos that health and safety is everybody’s responsibility. His commitment to achieving these high standards can clearly be seen in the best in class initiatives which have been implemented in the last number of years here at Quinn.”

Backed by Experience

Gerry Clancy joined Quinn as Health and Safety Manager in 2014 and brought to the position a breadth of experience gained from over 40 years in the industry, which has been invaluable in the role.

His career path has seen him work internationally in the United States, Canada and Nigeria, and more extensively throughout Ireland and the UK. With roots in the skilled trades of bricklaying and stone masonry, Gerry previously ran his own specialised construction and restoration company and went on to manage a skills training company. He has worked as a training consultant, managing and delivering training on behalf of leading industry bodies such as Fas and Solas and has himself obtained a long list of qualifications and certifications over the years, from his first industry qualification from City and Guilds, to various training and assessor qualifications from the National Construction College in Norfolk.

Upon his appointment as Health and Safety Manager with Quinn, Gerry became a member of the QPANI Health and Safety Committee and it was during initial meetings that he forged a strong working partnership with HSENI and was involved in many of their Health and Safety initiatives. He has continued to build on the industry relationships in the years since, greatly valuing the contribution of these bodies and recognising that a collaborative approach to Health and Safety Management is in everyone’s interest.

Continuous learning and innovative development have always been priorities for Gerry, so it is no surprise that some forty years into his career, he has been recognised for his valued contribution to Health and Safety.