Oberstown has been awarded an Enterprise Risk Network Recognition Award, presented by the State Claims Agency (SCA) at a ceremony on November 8.

The health & safety team in Oberstown were finalists in two areas and on the night won the overall award for NIMS (National Incident Management System) incident reporting and investigating, while also coming in the top three for the Oberstown Corporate Risk Register.

Katie O’Dwyer, Investigations Officer, Oberstown with Pat Kirwan, Deputy Director of the SCA.

The Oberstown winning entry was based on a new NIMS tool to close out on the investigation side of incidents and accidents. The tool, which Oberstown has been using for the past number of months, identifies immediate and underlying causes of incidents and the corrective actions to prevent reoccurrence and allows for tracking of trends in relation to incidents.

The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone, congratulated management and staff at Oberstown Children Detention Campus for its success at the State Claims Agency Enterprise Risk Network Recognition Awards 2018.

The Minister said: “I was delighted that Oberstown was among the finalists in two categories – the ‘Long Term Value’ and ‘NIMS Incident Investigation’ categories. I understand that there were a large number of initiatives submitted and the standard of these was very high. It is therefore a significant achievement for Oberstown to be the overall winner in the ‘NIMS Incident Investigation’ category.

Oberstown deputy director with responsibility for risk management Greg Flanagan said: “The awards are an indication that the Campus is making progress in the risk management area as part of the strategic objective of delivering robust governance and driving effective accountability at all levels. Receiving an award for the management of enterprise risk gives the risk management team the impetus to carry on with the goal of achieving ISO Certification for health & safety and catering in Oberstown.”

According to the SCA, Enterprise Risk Network Recognition Awards enable risk professionals in state authorities to showcase their work in the area of enterprise risk management and promote positive outcomes that can be achieved by implementing risk management initiatives.

Ciarán Breen, Director of the SCA, said: “These awards present a rare opportunity to come together to reflect on the great work that is happening in relation to enterprise risk management in the State sector. It is very encouraging, as Director of the SCA, to see the high level of commitment to continuous improvement and progress in the management of enterprise risk in these organisations. Through this event, we want to encourage all designated state authorities to keep striving towards the greater goal of creating workplaces, which are not only safe, but which promote good health and wellbeing. That is what these awards are all about.”

Director of Oberstown Pat Bergin commented: “We are delighted with the success for Oberstown at the ERN awards. These awards recognise the very best practice in risk management in the public sector, and I am very proud of all the staff at Oberstown that we were the winners in NIMS Incident Investigation category. It’s a great boost for the team and it follows on from a year of steady and consistent progress on the campus after a period of major change.”