ICHCA International has opened the 2nd TT Club Innovation in Safety Award and invites submissions from anyone involved in cargo logistics who can show a demonstrable improvement to safety.

ICHCA International, the global cargo handling NGO association, has opened the 2nd TT Club Innovation in Safety Award which aims to highlight the importance of safety at a time of increased operational demands on cargo handling infrastructure and operations worldwide. The goal of the Award is equally to champion and celebrate the many companies and individuals around the world who are 100% dedicated to 'making it safe' every day, and to acknowledge and foster innovation to improve safety in cargo operations and logistics.

The inaugural Award was won last year by APMT Buenos Aires for its mobile port equipment 'Safety Logging System'. This innovation produced measurable proven results in incident reduction and behavioural responses from the workforce. Entries for the 2016 award were numerous and varied, and the judges were pleased also to award a 'Highly Commended' prize to Andrew Ryan, as nominated by Asciano in Australia, for the simple concept of the 'Ryan Key'. This tool enables semi-automatic twist locks that have partially failed or been incorrectly installed to be 'locked' open, eliminating the need for operatives to remain in the danger zone to hold them whilst the container is discharged. The full report from the 2016 Award, including details of all entries submitted, has recently been published and is available to download for free here.

Both ICHCA International and TT Club have a fundamental commitment to risk reduction throughout the supply chain and, in particular, to safety within cargo handling operations. Promoting such safety advice is paramount to the philosophy of the two organisations and the Award reflects this commitment.

In announcing the opening of the Award entry process for 2017, TT Club Risk Management Director Peregrine Storrs-Fox said, "TT Club has always emphasised the critical nature of loss prevention in its role as a primary supplier of liability and property insurance to those in the supply chain industry. As such, we remain dedicated to encouraging safety awareness and applaud ICHCA's initiative in offering this prestigious award. TT Club has worked closely with ICHCA for a number of years, producing safety advisory documents and urging sound operational practice wherever and whenever possible. We look forward to celebrating the wealth of safety innovation that will once more be encouraged by this Award."

The Award is open to anyone - an individual, team or company - involved in cargo logistics. Entrants are required to show that a product, idea, solution, process, scheme or other innovation has resulted in a demonstrable improvement to safety.

The deadline for entries is Thursday 29 June 2017 and full details of the entry process and judging criteria can be found here.

The 2017 award ceremony takes place on Tuesday 3 October at the Hotel Santa Catalina in Las Palmas after day 1 of ICHCA International's 65th Anniversary Conference and is a principal part of the evening's awards programme. The anniversary conference will be looking towards the future of cargo handling through 5 key sessions on how to make the global cargo chain SAFE, SUSTAINABLE, SECURE, SMART and SKILLED. ICHCA's flagship event promises to bring together the big names in cargo handling to discuss the best ways to improve as an industry. Tickets are reduced by 25% for those who book before 31 May here.