Recalling the Health & Safety Excellence Awards 2026, held last 30th April at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry, Uisce Éireann's win of the Excellence in Health & Safety Training Award recognised 2025 as a landmark year for health and safety at Ireland's national water utility, marked by the rollout of a new Safety Management System and a supporting Behaviour-Based Safety and cultural transformation programme.

Uisce Éireann is responsible for delivering safe, reliable water and wastewater services to over four million people across Ireland. The scale and critical nature of that responsibility means that the health and safety of its workforce is not simply an organisational priority but a prerequisite for the continuity of services that communities depend on every day. The Transformational Training Strategy that earned the company its award at the Health & Safety Excellence Awards 2026 was built with that context firmly in mind.

The judging panel commended the structured approach at the heart of the programme. Beginning with a comprehensive gap review to identify where training provision fell short of identified needs, Uisce Éireann built a targeted training programme grounded in evidence rather than assumption. That discipline in design is what separates training strategies that deliver lasting behavioural change from those that satisfy compliance requirements without shifting underlying safety culture.

A standout feature of the programme was the introduction of mentoring support during the first 90 days for new entrants. That period is well established as the most critical window in shaping how new employees understand and internalise workplace safety behaviours. By providing structured mentoring during precisely that time, Uisce Éireann has invested in giving new colleagues the confidence and grounding needed to embed safe practices from the outset, rather than waiting for habits to form in the absence of guidance.

The judges noted the strong potential for long-term cultural change the programme carries, reflecting a training strategy that goes well beyond skills delivery into the deeper territory of occupational health and safety culture transformation.

Stay tuned for the Health & Safety Excellence Awards 2027 cycle, where organisations from across Ireland will once again have the opportunity to showcase their commitment to workplace health and safety excellence.

View the full list of winners at www.hsawards.ie/shortlist, and subscribe to the newsletter to stay informed on future award cycles and industry news.