Safety - say it like it is...

[Safety Steve]

Ok - into the den of lions we go.....

 

I am after some advice from members regarding the development of my health, safety and sustainability professional services. This is NOT a tout for business (at the moment).

 

I am a Charted Fellow of IOSH (the most recognised professional body) and personally very interested in the various commercial/private working environments covered by members. I am at that point in my career where I am going to do what I enjoy - rather than chase the £'s.

 

I am an ex engineer 'safety professional' (ie not an arborist or TS) with my own equipment which I have used for 20 years in a domestic user, (saws, brush cutters, 360 JCB, dumper and Kubota tractor with various attachments and buckets etc etc.) I don't climb but used to look after safety of a LA (parks, verge cutting risk assessments and vetting contractors! etc).

 

My (serious) request for your thoughts; does this industry have sufficient 'modern' safety professionals working for it? Ie not client led - but in house or 'on tap' advisors who look after your business and actually help you to win contracts, liaise with clients or help manage subbies etc).

 

I fully appreciate larger organisations will have in house services - but it is you smaller guys that I would enjoy working with more. If there is a general 'yes' I will use the appropriate place on here to sell my wares - this is more of a survey. It would be useful if you gave your current setup so I can see who thinks what.

 

Just as an example of 'modern safety' - I'd rather see you use a smart phone for site risk assessment and those awkward crown 'reduction' plans than start filling out lengthy forms....

 

No holds barred - say it like it is ! And thanks just for reading this far .

[wrsni]

Health and safety "professionals" along with the modern "legal profession" are two of the most parasitic scourges of modern society.

 

Anything that could be done to change that would be good for all of us.

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

Hi Steve, as a matter of interest, I would interpret 'modern safety' as a measure of compliance with current regs and safety guidance etc., e.g. FISA / AFAG / HSE leaflets and, for instance, ensuring that your planning process for tree work at height complies, SFARP, with the W@H Regs.

 

Your 'on-site' technology using smart phones / I-pads etc. is more 'modern (IT) technology' is it not...there's nothing new, or modern, about risk assessment which has been around since 1992.

 

Sorry, I'm Paul (Smith) and I manage the Arbor. Association's "Approved Contractor" Scheme, an 'industry specific' business accreditation opportunity, and I too deal with H&S...and whilst I'm not Chartered IOSH I am industry based.

 

I look forward to reading the replies here.

 

Good luck with your new venture

 

Paul

 

PS what do mean by those "awkward crown reduction plans"?

[Shane]

I beg to differ with wrsni,

 

I would welcome an annual site visit from an experienced 'Safety' guy who could offer impartial advice on safe methods, compliance etc.

 

I consider our approach to be safety conscious balanced with economic common sense.

I also have no doubt that an outsider may be able to offer suggestions on how we can be safer still.

 

We all have a moan about the safety fairies from time to time but as the saying goes

'If you think Health and Safety is a pain.. try having an accident'

 

Whatever people may think of the stories in The Sun, Express or 'the bloke down the pub' Safety legislation is exactly that LEGISLATION - not negotiable.

 

You can hate Safety guys all you like but you may feel different if you best friend ends up dead and you are sharing a prison cell with a gay gorilla due to your negligence.

 

Safety Steve - I would be happy to be a guinea pig (no lettuce though) - better to hear it from a paid consultant than from the HSE gestapo.

 

Rant over

 

I

[peatff]

How much does it cost to become a Chartered (fixed that for you ) Fellow of IOSH (the most recognised professional body) how many other bodies are there and where are they buried ?

[Safety Steve]

wrsni; lions 1 - safety 0

Paul; there was part of a posting that was discussing proposed work on a TPO for the client - I want to integrate OSH with the actual work -not have it as a bolt on. This means less input but more relevance for you guys.

Peatff; the 'fellow' means that I stood a round once..... the Chartered bit takes about 5 -10 years in a safety role. It is usually (not always) a second career. I also train people in the industry itself but no more on this here. IOSH is the largest in the world - happy to talk more on this if anyone interested from a personal development perspective, but want the conversation to be on free flow (like my beer) so I'll shut up....

[wrsni]

'If you think Health and Safety is a pain.. try having an accident'

 

Few "accidents" just happen, they are as a result of carelessness.

 

H&S doesn't prevent carelessness, it's a massive unproductive industry built up around human nature.

 

The last factory I worked at complied with all H&S criteria, brought in consultants, etc, etc. I should know as I was in charge of it weirdly enough. But they were still having too many minor injuries which really disrupted the production line. So the bosses came up with an idea that if there were no reportable injuries over a four week period, on the Friday of the fourth week they would stop a couple of hours early, send out to the local Chinese and the staff would have a take away at their expense. The number of reportable accidents fell by over 90%, no consultants, no surveys, no expense other than a take away bill on the months when they achieved it and that was more than covered in increased productivity.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

I'd agree with Shane!

 

Success in delivering a value added audit which can be utilised as an enabler rather than an obstruction to be overcome is as much to do with inter-personal skills as it is knowledge and experience of legal requirements. Probably the greatest barrier to success is entrenched / intransigent attitudes of potential clients that need to be overcome at an early stage if there is to be any chance of a useful conclusion.

 

I would go so far as to suggest (from personal experience as an ISO 9000/1 auditor in a previous life) that intimate knowledge of the sector (whatever that might be) is not a prerequisite for a successful audit. In fact, approaching an unfamiliar sector allows the auditor to ask simple questions that can break down the barrier between auditor and client. From the client perspective, there is nothing worse than having a know-it-all look at your processes. A softer approach I found much more productive.

 

 

At a sensible cost there could indeed be a market but travel and subsistence might restrict area availability unless it is networked.

 

As Shane said, I too would be open to a trial examination.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

PS, I make that 2-2 now!

[peatff]

I'm a bit cynical like wrsni as I was a convener at the factory I worked in and management brought in some consultants to explain to us how to work smarter and safer. This was many years ago and I saw the bill. It was over £2000 a day plus expenses. We ended up doing everything exactly the same but we had to write down how we'd done it.