Peter Hodgson, the managing director of Sureteam Health and Safety, has received the prestigious President’s Commendation from the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM).

Mr Hodgson, who set up Tetbury-based Sureteam 15 years ago, was given the award for his work in promoting health and safety as founder and chairman of the Gloucestershire branch of the IIRSM, covering the Gloucestershire, Bristol and Cardiff areas.

It is the only President’s Commendation to be bestowed by the IIRSM this year among the 9,000 members who make up the organisation.

The award was given to Mr Hodgson, a Fellow of the IIRSM, at a ceremony at the Royal Institution in London last week, attended by business leaders from the health and safety arena.

The IIRSM is an international organisation which promotes risk management and health and safety among its members in more than 70 countries worldwide.

Mr Hodgson, who is 52 and lives in Tetbury, said: “There is only one person per year who receives this award so I’m elated to be given it. It’s also great for our business, as it raises my profile not only within the Institute but also with our clients.

“I’m doing what I’m passionate about and I have so much time for this Institute – they allow members to react and enact within it and they have always been really good at treating members like individuals, not just like a number.

“Part of Fellowship of the IIRSM is about community health and safety too, so in the past few years I have overseen a lot of work with the Scouts and local events like the Woolsack Races in Tetbury.

“And there is something of a snowball effect happening with health and safety at the moment – we have seen membership of the IIRSM growing not only in our branch but across the UK and internationally.

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“Last year we set up a trip around Hinckley B to discuss how they manage health and safety and we also had a talk by the group head of safety for Royal Mail. So there’s a lot of interaction with bigger businesses to see how they approach their health and safety, which is a great way to gain an improved understanding of the subject.”

Phillip Pearson, Chief Executive of the IIRSM, said:

We were very pleased to acknowledge Peter’s considerable contribution to IIRSM’s growing branch network.    He is an experienced and passionate health and safety professional who has worked extremely hard at grassroots level to spread the word;  setting up a local IIRSM branch and arranging varied activities to improve the knowledge and scope of fellow members.  

As a membership organisation, it is important for us to encourage local member participation in order to remain close to our members’ professional wants and needs.  Peter’s commitment and work in this area is therefore highly valued and he is thoroughly deserving of the IIRSM President’s Commendation.

Notes to editors

1. Sureteam

Sureteam Health and Safety was established in 1999 and has two offices – one in Tetbury, Gloucestershire and another in Wiltshire.

The company operates a range of health and safety consultancy and training services, o clients in multiple industries. 

For further information visit www.sureteamweb.com.

2. IIRSM

The International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM) is a professional body for health and safety practitioners and specialists in related fields who have a health and safety remit.  It was set up to advance standards in accident prevention and occupational health throughout the world.  

Established in 1975 this not-for-profit organisation offers membership to practitioners in over 70 countries. IIRSM welcomes third sector engagement at every level and actively seeks partnerships with equivalent bodies throughout the world.  It has strong links with leading universities and international bodies and works to establish and promote standards of professional competence.

In support of its mission statement:  “to provide recognition, information, support and enhancement to our growing membership”

www.iirsm.org

Issued by:

Rupert Janisch of Elmhay PR and Media

t: 01453 823 625 | m: 07929 660 586 | e: rupert@elmhay.com