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NEWS
June/July 2013 www.esb.ie/em
EU PRESIDENCY DINNER
President receives CIPD Award
THE CIPD IRELAND Charles E. Jacob Gold Medal honours a great Irishman Charles Jacob who in 1913 together with the English industrialist Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree and other enlightened employers influenced the establishment of the institute that is now CIPD. “The principles Charles Jacob advocated of workplace health and welfare with skills training and personal development, so at variance with the prevailing views of most employers in 1913, are as relevant today as they were back then. It is entirely appropriate that in our centenary year, which is also such an important date in Ireland's history, that CIPD awarded the Gold Medal to President Michael D. Higgins on May 21st last, for his outstanding advocacy of, and concern for, people and their development.”
CIPD goes on to describe the President as “one of the most distinguished human rights advocates of his generation”. His views, they say, “are very close to our own vision of the direction the CIPD needs to take as we embark on our second millennium”.
CIPD Ireland is the leading body in the field of personnel and development and is part of an organisation with over 127,000 members.
NEW APPOINTMENT TO THE BOARD OF ESB
NOREEN O'KELLY, a chartered accountant, has been appointed by Government to the Board of ESB. Noreen trained in KPMG and then worked in Element Six in Co. Clare, until she joined Independent News and Media in 1990 as group financial accountant. She became group treasurer in 1995 and was appointed company secretary in 1997. She then joined C&C Group in 2002, also as company secretary, managing the regulatory aspects of its successful Initial Public Offering in 2004. She was a member of its executive committee, and also had responsibility for group pensions and risk management.
Noreen left C&C in 2010 and is now a consultant on corporate governance.
New CEHSC engages with staff in Aghada
THE RECONSTITUTED CEHSC held its first meeting in Aghada Power Station on Monday May 13th. The role of the CEHSC is to advise and support the Chief Executive, EDT and Business Units on developing and implementing group policies, plans and programmes on health, safety and related issues across the business. As part of its new role, the CEHSC will also communicate directly with staff to promote and support continuous improvement in ESB's safety culture and performance to achieve zero injuries across the business. The role of each member on the CEHSC is to:
• Become a Safety Ambassador for their business unit or area of representation through being a passionate and visible advocate on safety.
• Be involved in relevant Business Unit Health and Safety Committees or similar to strengthen the link between the work of local Health and Safety Committees and the work of the CEHSC.
• Be a channel of communication between the CEHSC and their business unit or area of representation on health and safety issues.
• Engage directly with staff on safety as part of each meeting via a question and answer session.
• Undertake safety audits or reviews in order to increase visibility of the CEHSC when visiting a location.
The membership of the new committee consists of safety ambassadors from each business, Board HSE Committee, the EDT, the Group of Unions and is chaired by the Chief Executive. Members of the new committee are:
| Pat O’Doherty | Chief Executive/ Chair of the committee |
| Tony Merriman | Board HSE Safety Ambassador |
| Paddy Hayes | GWM/ EDT Safety Ambassador |
| John Begley | Networks Safety Ambassador |
| Trevor Lucey | ESBI/ Innovation Safety Ambassador |
| Michael O’Grady | GWM Safety Ambassador |
| Liam Molloy | BSC & Electric Ireland Ambassador |
| Colm de Búrca | Corporate Safety Ambassador |
| Paddy Murray | GOU Safety Ambassador |
| Ronan Collier | Secretary and convenor of meeting |
The committee met in the canteen in Aghada and heard from staff on how:
• Sharing the learning from safety incidents had benefitted other parts of the organisation.
• The Cultural web helped the Aghada Safety Committee identify how to keep safety fresh.
• 4you highlighted opportunities to review lone working, work cycles, dynamic risk assessment, safety auditing and safety conversations.
• Appropriate alarm management can significantly improve operations information and response.
• Aghada is responding to the challenges of managing safety in light of reduced staff numbers.
The Chief Executive thanked the staff of Aghada for the open and frank discussion on these and other safety challenges in the station and encouraged further discussion and engagement on these important safety matters. It is intended that the CEHSC would meet four times a year at different locations to engage with as many staff as possible on safety.
Please contact Ronan Collier or any member of the committee for further information. Email: ronan.collier@esb.ie. Tel: 01 702 6726.
CHANGES AT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR LEVEL
CHIEF EXECUTIVE PAT O'Doherty has announced the appointment of Brid Horan, Executive Director, BSC and Electric Ireland, as Deputy Chief Executive. Prior to joining ESB in 1997 as Group Pensions Manager, she headed up KPMG Pension and Actuarial Consulting.
Brid replaces Johnny Shine, who leaves ESB at the end of May, following 31 years’ service to take up the position of Managing Director, Eircom Networks.
Paying tribute to Johnny, the Chief Executive said: “Johnny has made a significant contribution to ESB's growth and development over the past three decades and has been instrumental in driving forward major investments, including the expansion and refurbishment of Ireland's electricity network. We wish Johnny well in his new position.”
Pat congratulated Brid on her appointment and said she came to the role at a time of great change and uncertainty in the electricity sector. “I look forward to working with Brid over the coming years to ensure that ESB continues to bring sustainable and competitive energy solutions to our customers in the integrated Ireland/UK market,” he said.
