Dulux strikes gold for the third time in prestigious awards

A policy of zero tolerance for injury and an ongoing commitment to workplace safety has seen Lower Hutt based paint manufacturer, Dulux, awarded the coveted ACC Workplace Safety award at last night’s prestigious 2011 Wellington Gold Awards.

The Gold Awards - which are judged across 10 categories ranging from creativity in film and media through to best practice policies in workplace safety and environmental sustainability - were established in 1999 and recognise enterprise and excellence in Wellington business.

Dulux - who has been manufacturing premium paint products at its Gracefield plant in Lower Hutt since 1939 - is no stranger to the awards, having won the ACC-sponsored Workplace Safety award in 2009 and the Green Gold award for environmental sustainability in 2008.

Workplace safety forms a key part of Dulux’s core values, with the company committed to providing its employees with the highest safety standards.

Following the motto of “A future without harm”, Dulux’s mission is to create a completely injury-free working environment, with all employees introduced to the company’s comprehensive Safety, Health and Environment charter when they join the organisation. Dulux’s safety programme - which focuses on creating the safest work environment possible for all staff - is supported by regular assessments of how teams and policies are performing, with a network of health and safety representatives meeting monthly to discuss potential safety hazards and improvements.

Julia Myers, General Manager of Dulux New Zealand, said Dulux was incredibly proud to once again be recognised as leaders in workplace safety.

“Our staff - in particular our operations team - have worked incredibly hard over the years on developing and implementing a comprehensive and world-leading Safety, Health and Environment programme, so it’s a real honour for us and our team to be recognised with this prestigious award.”

While Dulux is proud of what they have achieved to date with their Health, Safety and Environment policy, Myers points out that upgrades to the company’s Gracefield manufacturing plant - which is currently undergoing a $28 million refurbishment - will help further improve onsite safety for staff.

“We’re bringing a lot of the loading and unloading areas under cover so our people are not exposed to the elements, and have arranged the site so that trucks delivering or collecting product are not operating in the same area as our own forklift drivers,” said Myers of some of the planned improvements.

The Wellington Gold Awards were announced at a gala dinner attended by around 800 people, at Wellington’s TSB Arena on May 18, 2011.

Other finalists in the Workplace Safety category at this year’s awards included Aquaheat Industries and Wellington Free Ambulance.