This is the best incident frequency result that Colas has achieved since the SAID campaign started in 2002, and is a notable success.

One in 10 vehicles was involved in an incident in 2011, which is a significant improvement on the statistic of one in 8.8 in 2010 (incident frequency in 2010 was 0.114).

As a company, we encourage ongoing awareness of driving issues to promote the safety of all Colas employees on the road.

It will be a considerable challenge to improve on our performance in 2012 - SAID's 10^th anniversary year - but thanks are due to all company drivers who have contributed to the achievement in 2011.

Targeting all of A-one+'s operational areas they have been produced with very clear messages aimed at raising safety awareness for all roadworkers and to influence the behaviour of drivers when approaching work sites - This is because there have been numerous incidents with drivers not noticing signs and failing to reduce their speed near to roadworks.

The adverts have been airing on Real Radio's Smooth Radio (106.6) since the 5th February 2012. The campaign will run for two weeks and will amount to 520 adverts being played over that period with an estimated reach of 1.86 million listeners. Their airplay will ensure that the issue of road safety at or near roadworks becomes a topic very much at the forefront of drivers' minds and demonstrates our dedication towards keeping our employees safe.

In addition to the radio output there will also be adverts on the station's websites for each area, and posters will be displayed in A-one+ offices and depots to inform staff about what is happening.

As a company our aim is always to introduce new and dynamic ways of communicating safety messages, keeping safety very much at the heart of our business.

"The store is now open seven days a week so there will be a high level of interface with the public and store staff that needs to be effectively managed by our site agent, Graham Shaw." said Contracts Manager, Will Smith.  

"We have been involved in extensive dialogue with the outlet's management team to ensure our works and deliveries have been planned and programmed around their peak opening times."

The project commenced on the 23rd January and has an anticipated duration of 14 weeks.

Colas have now held the Leeds highway works term contract since 2006 and the minor works contract since 2004.

The term contract encompasses new improvements such as signalised crossings, bus routes, carriageway widening and cycle routes, while the minor works contract focuses on maintaining existing carriageways and footways through reconstruction and replacement.

These extensions demonstrate how the team are living our corporate brand promise to "Go further" for our customers. They have enhanced our company reputation with their levels of service and the finished quality of their work.

77 Colas employees were interviewed as part of the assessment.

The assessor commented that there was very clear evidence of continuous improvement since the last review in 2009. A full report which will include suggested areas for us to work on so we can get even better is expected shortly.

This award is an endorsement of how we apply our values - responsible, talented, innovative, visionary and passionate - and clearly demonstrates that 'Together we go further'.

The Investors in People standard provides a national framework for improving business performance and competitiveness through a planned approach to setting and communicating business objectives and developing people to meet these objectives.

Colas first became recognised as an Investor in People in 2002.

The company, which was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in May 2011, supplies ejection seats for 93 air forces worldwide and maintains its own airfield at Chalgrove for operational testing of ejection seats. The first live ejection from a Martin-Baker seat, fitted to a Gloster Meteor, was made over Chalgrove airfield in July 1946. Since then 7,365 lives have been saved by the company's ejection seats.

Martin-Baker has established an extensive range of unique and modern facilities and specialist engineering capabilities to support ejection seat work, ensuring that these products are of the highest quality and reliability, and will perform as designed - the first time - an approach for which Colas' Airfields team are also renowned in the airport sector.

Martin-Baker is committed to a proactive policy on environmental issues and Colas are very pleased to have been able to support this policy through the use of their Repave hot in-situ recycling process in the rehabilitation of the entire runway.

Compared with the conventional solution of removing and disposing of the existing runway surface Colas will use their Repave recycling process to not only significantly reduce waste, but also reduce the quantity of new asphalt by 50%. Cost saving aside, the clear environmental benefit of this process is the reduced depletion of natural resource, reduction in the number of lorry movements, and the associated savings in CO2 and energy.

Further information about The Martin-Baker Company can be found at www.martin-baker.com

Further information about the use of the Repave process at airports can be found here

At a cost of over £250,000 the new extension and depot upgrade will provide an additional 9 offices and a state of the art, open plan space, equipped with hi-tech communication and collaboration equipment specifically designed to accommodate bidding and project teams.

This significant investment in one of Colas' main regional offices demonstrates the company's continuing commitment to expanding and improving their facilities as their business grows.

Colas have had a depot at the current Birmingham location since 1985 and it is currently the main operating base for their Airfields, Surface Dressing and Recycling businesses. In addition, their Plant & Transport department have large workshops which support the contract units operating from Birmingham.

Pictured with CEO, Lee Rushbrooke, are John Stevens, one of the longest serving members of staff at the office and Jochen Troeger, Recycling Manager and landlord, who has overseen and project managed the new building.

The theme of Road Safety Week 2011 was 'Too Young to die', and the primary aim of Colas' involvement this year was to tackle the issue of crashes involving young drivers and passengers, following a recent survey revealing the extent of deadly risk taking amongst this age group. Colas also visited schools to educate children on how to stay safe on the roads.

The company's Safer Attitudes in Driving (SAID) and community involvement teams supported a week of road safety activities across its operations nationally and focused in particular on events in Portsmouth and Leeds. Many company employees devoted time to the cause, and Colas provided road safety promotional materials to give away at the events, as well as visiting schools to help educate children on how to stay safe on the roads.

From the 21st to the 24th, Colas supported Portsmouth City Council's road safety team running activities in local schools, and on the 25th they displayed a number of their large operational vehicles as part of a major event in the city centre - this was to promote vital road safety messages through raising young peoples' awareness of the dangers posed by these vehicles.

Also on the 25th, Colas' road safety and community involvement representatives supported West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue in Leeds to get the road safety message across to young people through sharing experiences drawn from company driver safety initiatives over many years.

Additionally, Colas sponsored Brake road safety banners that were displayed in the centres of Portsmouth and Leeds all week; and the company-wide support for Road Safety Week culminated in a sponsored Brake Bright Day competition in all Colas offices on the 25th.

Feedback from the events was extremely positive, and Colas managed to raise £190.00 on Brake Bright Day.

Colas Chief Executive, Lee Rushbrooke, said of the week: "Colas is extremely proud to be associated with the vitally important road safety message. We have invested considerable effort in training, guidance and monitoring over the past decade to promote safer attitudes in driving amongst our employees, and this has enabled Colas to achieve significant reduction in motor incidents over that period. The crucial next step for our company is to be able to share the benefits of our experience and resources with the broader community that we serve. National Road Safety Week is the ideal opportunity to do this."

Prior to the royal visit Wirral Borough Council asked for Colas' help to tidy up the pavilion and surrounding area. The company's term maintenance team were more than happy to oblige, and all tasks were successfully completed in time for the occasion.

Works included road marking refreshments; the painting of lamp columns and guardrails; the refurbishment of benches through the company's Wirral based engineering workshop; the removal and installation of signs; and the provision and setting out of crowd control barriers. Colas supervised and carried out the entire operation - except for 'road markings', which were undertaken by subcontractors.

Contracts Manager, Steve Grimes spoke of the secrecy surrounding the brief: "Our team were informed a month ago of the need for the works and carried out a site visit three weeks ago to discuss the council's requirements. As with all royal visits security was of the highest priority and the event was not announced until the week before it took place. Whilst carrying out the works our team were expected not to discuss the upcoming visit."

The Mayor of Wirral, Councillor Moira McLaughlin, spoke highly of Colas' efforts saying: "Just a note to say thank you for all your efforts in tidying up the frontage of the Floral Pavilion. Politicians, senior council officers, the public, and the royal party, all said how well it looked and even the weather was kind."