Award of Merit goes to Raj Naidoo
 A jubilant Raj Naidoo from Grinaker-LTA was the winner of one of the most important awards the building industry can possibly confer on its members – the Award of Merit.
“I have won awards before but none as significant as this one. As a company and as an individual we are passionate about safety and I believe that passion has won us this award.”
The Association introduced the Award of Merit some three years ago with a view to recognising positive contributions to the building industry in KwaZulu-Natal. Specific criteria which could be considered include:
- Solution to a difficult problem
- Innovative thinking
- Efforts in the face of hardship
- Excellence beyond the line of duty
- Innovative construction techniques
- Human achievement in averting danger
- Saving of life; or
- Any other achievement which is considered worthy of the award and results in a
- noteworthy contribution to the building industry.
This year’s award was more challenging than the past year as not one or two but three nominations were received. The executive council thoroughly debated around this issue and decided this year that the winner would be an individual who has taken the field of Occupational Health and Safety to a new level.
Naidoo was nominated by his employer Grinaker-LTA, for his dedication and the passion he has towards safety and for setting new standards in this important discipline. He is the manager of Grinaker LTA’s yard which has been:
- Awarded five stars under the MBSA star rating system for the past 13 years.
- Placed first in the regional Master Builders Safety Awards for 13 out of the past 15 years.
- Placed first in the National Safety Awards for six out of the last seven years.
- The best overall performer in all categories in KwaZulu-Natal for the last 10 years.
- Awarded a Presidential Award for scoring more than 95% for the last 10 years nationally.
- Recognised as the Safety Person of the Year by the Master Builders Association KZN in 2001.
“What is amazing about these achievements is that they have been consistently reached for a period of 15 years. Naidoo is not on a mission to make safety important, but he eats drinks and sleeps safety. I think you will all agree that it is this ongoing commitment which is going to be most effective in saving lives and averting incidents,” said Brandon Abdinor, Executive Director of the Association.
Press Release | Master Builders KwaZulu Natal
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