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Preparations for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents’ prestigious Occupational Health and Safety Awards are underway, with the entry process now open for the 2015 awards round.

Open to businesses and organisations of all types and sizes from across the UK and overseas, the RoSPA Awards is the largest and longest-running occupational safety awards programme in the UK and recognises organisations’ commitment to accident and ill-health prevention.

Running parallel to these awards will be the Guardian Angel Awards - based on a nomination process and designed to recognise individuals who have worked tirelessly to promote safety in their workplace or community.

Presentation ceremonies for the internationally recognised RoSPA Awards will once again be held in London, co-located with Safety and Health International 2015 (formerly Safety and Health Expo), as well as in Birmingham and Glasgow.

They will take place at ExCeL Exhibition Centre London on June 16, the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on July 14-15 and the Hilton Glasgow on September 17.

Thousands of winners and their guests will attend RoSPA’s daytime ceremonies and evening gala dinners to receive their accolades.

To enter for a non-competitive occupational health and safety achievement award, entrants need to register atwww.rospa.com/awards/ by January 9, 2015, for the Birmingham and London ceremonies and April 30, 2015, for the Glasgow ceremony.

There is an early registration discount for organisations that register by November 20, 2014. All organisations wishing to enter for a competitive industry sector or specialist award must register by January 9, regardless of which ceremony they would attend to receive any resulting award.

The majority of awards are non-competitive and mark achievement at merit, bronze, silver and gold levels. Gold medals, president’s awards and orders of distinction are presented to organisations sustaining high standards over time.  

Competitive awards go to the best entries in 22 industry sectors including construction, healthcare, transport and logistics, engineering, manufacturing and education.  

There are specialist awards for workforce involvement, occupational health, environmental management and managing occupational road risk (MORR), and a trophy for the best organisation operating or based in Scotland. RoSPA’s top accolade is the Sir George Earle Trophy.  

Tom Mullarkey, RoSPA’s chief executive, said: “RoSPA awards are the most sought after and highly regarded accolades within the safety industry and receiving one showcases an organisation’s safety commitment to its peers, competitors and customers.  

“The awards look at entrants’ overarching health and safety management systems, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement, while providing well-deserved recognition for the winners, encouraging other organisations to raise their standards of accident and ill-health prevention.”  

Headline sponsor for the awards will be NEBOSH - the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health - for the 10th consecutive year.   For more information about the RoSPA Awards, or to request an entry form, visit www.rospa.com/awards