Event management company MotivAction has joined a leading edge scheme designed to help industry improve its safety record. The Hertfordshire-based firm recently received accreditation from SAFEcontractor, a programme that recognises very high standards of health and safety practice amongst UK contractors.

The company’s application for SAFEcontractor accreditation was driven by the need for a uniform standard across the business and the desire to test the company’s standards against the best.

Delivering around 1,000 events each year, some for up to 35,000 people, has led MotivAction to appointment of a full-time, NEBOSH-qualified health and safety manager. Founder and managing director Tim Waygood is confident that the company’s new status will be a positive step:

“We believe we are the first event management company in the UK to receive safety accreditation like this," he said. "This demonstrates our dedication to the safety of both our clients and our own staff, and means we’ll continue to stay one step ahead of our competitors.”

With the Corporate Manslaughter Bill and Corporate Homicide Bill receiving Royal Assent in July this year, there is now a heightened emphasis on increased safety and responsibility in all workplaces. As such, SAFEcontractor accreditation is expected to enhance MotivAction's ability to attract new contracts and its commitment to safety will be viewed positively by its insurers when the company liability policy is up for renewal.

SAFEcontractor is operated by international safety, health and environmental risk management specialists, the National Britannia Group. The system is applicable to most sectors although it is particularly relevant to facilities management, leisure, food manufacture and property sectors; all of which are big users of contract services.