Energy Workforce’s HSE Committee invites Member Companies to participate in the 2026 Safety Awards Program, which identifies and recognizes Member Companies’ safety successes for the previous year. Awards will be presented at an EWTC event in the fall.
Submission Process
To submit your nominations, please visit the official awards portal.
The application deadline is July 31, 2026. Participating members must have been active members in good standing for the entire calendar year and have reported a minimum of 10,000 exposure hours during that year.
Three awards will be presented to each Group:
• All Member Companies with a zero (0) incident rate will be awarded a Gold Award and/or the participating member(s) determined to have the lowest recordable incidence rate will be recognized as the Gold Award winners(s)
• The participating Member(s) determined to have the second-lowest recordable incidence rate will be recognized as the Silver Award winner(s)
• The participating Member(s) determined to have the third-lowest recordable incidence rate will be recognized as the Bronze Award winner(s)
President’s Recognition of Safety Improvement
• All participating Members with incidence rates decreasing 25% or more of the previous year’s incidence rate will be presented a certificate. Injuries and illnesses that are recordable are those that result in:
a. Death
b. Loss of consciousness
c. Days away from work
d. Restricted work activity or job transfer
e. Medical treatment beyond first aid
f. Significant cases as diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional
Video Award Categories
The EWTC HSE Committee developed four categories to recognize outstanding achievements in our industry. These awards require a video submission to be considered.
- Human Performance in Action Award
- The Human Performance in Action Award recognizes organizations that apply Human Performance principles in everyday work, focusing on how people, systems, and leadership interact to create safe outcomes.
- This award explicitly includes Learning from Normal Work and recognizes efforts to understand how work is actually done, how people adapt to complexity, and how organizations use those insights to improve safety.
- This award is not about having a formal Human Performance programmed. It is about showing how Human Performance thinking changed practice and improved safety outcomes.
- Failing Safely and Learning Forward Award
- The Failing Safely and Organizational Learning Award recognizes organizations that acknowledge that work does not always go as planned and intentionally design systems and responses to prevent failure from resulting in harm.
- This award highlights clear fail-safe thinking and resilience, including how organizations:
- Anticipate human error and manage it safely
- Detect and respond to weak signals, deviations, or unexpected conditions
- Recover effectively when controls or plans are challenged
- Learn and improve without blame or fear
- A serious incident is not required for this award. Near misses, recoveries, adaptations, and early learning moments are all valid submissions. The focus is on understanding what was changed to ensure that when things go wrong, they do so safely.
- Innovation in Safety and Design for Safety Award
- The Innovation in Safety and Design for Safety Award recognizes organizations that reduce risk by changing the system, not by relying solely on procedures or individual behavior.
- This category recognizes innovations that:
- Make the safe way the easy way
- Reduce exposure, complexity, or reliance on human perfection
- Improve equipment, tools, layouts, interfaces, or work planning
- Are practical, scalable, and transferable across the industry
- Innovation can be high tech or low tech, digital or analogue. What matters most is that the solution addresses real operational challenges, improves safety and reliability, and offers clear learning value for others.
- Frontline Engagement and Empowerment Award
- The Frontline Engagement and Empowerment Award recognizes organizations that actively involve frontline workers in shaping the safety culture and efforts at their respective companies, rather than simply complying with rules.
- This award celebrates initiatives where:
- Frontline teams influence how risks are identified and managed
- Workers are empowered to speak up, stop work, or improve processes
- Safety solutions are co-created with those performing the work
- Engagement leads to simpler, safer, and more effective operations
- Submissions should demonstrate how frontline knowledge was respected and used, how decision-making authority was strengthened, and demonstrates how employees own the safety culture rather than be subject to it.
Participation in the Safety Awards Program is voluntary. Information submitted will only be utilized to select award winners and will not be viewed, except by Energy Workforce staff involved in the review process. Awards will be presented across the four categories based on exposure hours, with the lowest recordable incidence rate recognized as Gold Award winners.
We encourage all eligible members to participate and share their accomplishments. Your contributions elevate our industry and inspire others to strive for excellence.
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