The RMT union has called for a public inquiry into the management and operations of Network Rail, following the conclusion today (4 November) of the inquest into the death of a woman in the Grayrigg train crash.

“A disappointing year with clear evidence of a poor safety culture, patchy implementation of procedures and slow progress on some key risks – often requiring formal enforcement.” This is the Office of Rail Regulation’s blunt assessment of Network Rail’s health and safety performance in 2010/2011.

The new Safety Climate Tool (SCT) from the Health and Safety Laboratory can help measure the attitudes to safety and behaviours of employees and how these impact on risk control, offering a unique insight into an organisation’s safety culture, whatever its size or industry.

“Remember, you have a duty to cooperate; you don’t have a duty to capitulate,” a packed SHP Legal Arena heard today.

Clients have overall control of the work they commission and, as such, can and should influence how and when it happens.

A roadside CCTV-repair worker died as a result of injuries sustained in a night-time fall because his employer had not made him aware of the fact that he was working near a drop.

A waste company’s “mixed messages” on safety may have contributed to an incident in which the driver of a refuse-collection vehicle reversed over a female pedestrian and fatally injured her.

A care-home resident died after being physically restrained in an “inappropriate and dangerous” fashion by untrained staff, a court heard.

The operator of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) must pay nearly £500,000 in fine and costs after a member of the public fell on the track and was crushed to death by a train.

Dr Tim Marsh takes the concept of ‘nudge’, as introduced in our November issue, and explains how it is a key element of the ‘mindful organisation’ – one in which strong and proactive leadership creates a robust safety culture.

Keith Turney gives a first-person account of the effect a worker fatality – and the subsequent HSE prosecution – had on him and his company, and explains how the incident prompted the revitalisation of the safety culture within the already very safety-conscious business.

The ‘big build’ phase of the London 2012 Olympics construction project is nearing its end, so the focus now is on how to take forward the outstanding health and safety achievements and ensure a learning legacy for the construction industry. Tina Weadick reports.

Barry Hough explains why embedding a health and safety index into an organisation’s safety management procedures could help strengthen its commitment to good performance in the field.

Demystifying the current academic buzz words around the subject and using examples from politics and popular culture Tim Marsh explains why leadership style doesn’t just influence safety culture but largely determines it.

By racking up more than 8700 days free of lost-time accidents (LTAs) in its manufacturing and sales and distribution sites, LINPAC Packaging has recorded its best ever health and safety performance.

Industrial noise-control specialist Wakefield Acoustics has been awarded high marks for its HS&E procedures in the ‘Verify’ programme of supplier-management services organisation, Achilles.

Respiratory and personal protective equipment manufacturer Scott Health and Safety has achieved an OHSAS 18001 accreditation.

Forklift truck hire firm Briggs Equipment is warning fleet operators to ensure that staff understand and follow safety procedures as industry gears up for the festive season.

A leading solicitors claims that many workplace accidents can be attributed to relaxed attitudes by staff towards safety procedures.

A recognition that worker involvement could help when bidding for contracts, as well as an incident on one of its flagship building projects, provided a double impetus for Manchester-based Bardsley Construction to reinvigorate its health and safety culture, by setting up a formal process for worker consultation and engagement.