WJ scoop two awards in the prestigious CIHT National awards, in the categories Employer of the Year and Innovation of the Year.
The awards ceremony featured a change of scenery this year as the shortlisted and winners’ announcements took place through a series of webcasts. The awards attracted some fantastic entries for a variety of awards for the three themes; Supporting one another, Innovation and Shaping the Future.
For Employer of the Year, WJ outlined how they had established a caring culture which extended far beyond safe working practices to embedding thinking that looks towards employee and societal wellbeing. A key aspect to the submission was WJ’s Thinking Community initiative, which is used to empower their employees to contribute to their local communities through the utilisation of WJ’s resources. This initiative has seen them take part in many projects throughout the year su
ch as marking school playgrounds, tree planting days, facilitating work experience with school visits. In total the initiative has already helped inspire over 15,000 lives.
WJ Group Managing Director Wayne Johnston commented “Absolutely delighted to win both Employer and Innovation of the Year. I think the benefits of our initiatives to support employee and societal wellbeing have become more apparent recently. The way our team has stepped up to meet the Covid-19 challenge with great skill and determination has been heart-warming and I am immensely proud of every single employee. We have also realised that a key element of employee wellbeing is also the wellbeing of their family, which is why we extended appropriate PPE to everyone’s family during these difficult times.”
The impressive WJ Robotic PreMarker won Innovation of the Year and received accolades for improved people plant interface risk management, whilst greatly increasing efficiency. The small robot uses data inputted using CAD software to co-ordinate through 14 satellites where pre-marks needs to be sprayed in preparation for permanent road markings so they can be installed accurately. Compared to traditional methods, the robot greatly increases safety as it removes the need for operatives to be on the carriageway for lengthy periods, bending down to spray marks on the carriageway. Yet, it also yields significant performance increases with a 96% reduction in time needed to install pre-markings on large schemes.
The institute’s recognition with these awards has inspired WJ to continue their development of innovation through automation and cultivation of a culture that creates social value through workforce wellbeing, community support and environmental improvement whilst delivering an exceptional service.
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