Lorenzo Visentin – How did I get here?

As a Registered Nurse I moved out of the NHS and into private-sector occupational health, which was a good combination of my caring and business skills. I then discovered the wider world of occupational safety and  health and, with a promotion into a management role came the transfer into mainstream H&S.

What qualifications do you hold?

With a commitment to professional development this has become quite a list! My BSc (Hons) is in community public health and I hold an MSc in OH psychology. I also hold OHSMS Lead Auditor qualifications. I’m a chartered member of IOSH and have fellowships of the Royal Society of Public Health and the Institute of Leadership and Management.

Which aspects of your health and safety role do you most enjoy?

This is the most valuable part of my working life. I enjoy learning about different work cultures and processes, as well as the sheer breadth of exposure that working people experience every day. Yes, as a profession, we have controlled many risks but there are still many preventable situations that all safety professionals can contribute to reducing.

What have been the highest and lowest points in your career?

I subscribe to the Nietzsche philosophy that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, so I don’t have a lowest point – lots of learning points though! High points were speaking at an EU technical panel on the risks to older workers.

What has been the biggest change in H&S since you have been working in it?

I think the largest changes have been those in fire safety. The previous prescriptive regime had a good dose of familiarity and comfort about it, but the alignment of fire safety to general H&S through risk assessment is a good thing. That, and the proliferation of so-called ‘H&S advisors’ who tie well-meaning employers in bureaucratic knots.

What do you think will be the biggest developments in the next 10 years?

I suspect that emerging technologies such as increased home and tele-working will have a huge impact on the psychological, social, mental and physical risks to workers. I also think we will all realise that H&S needs to be much more gender-sensitive; women workers have been disadvantaged by the gender-neutral approach taken to date.

If you were PM for a day, which H&S law(s) would you introduce, or repeal?

I’m not sure any PM will ever be brave enough to repeal full pieces of legislation but I’d certainly consider rationalising repetition. The need to risk-assess is now firmly enshrined – does it really need repeating in each piece of law? There is a case for extending some H&S law into the domestic setting – for care workers, cleaners and child carers. The risks don’t stop at the front door.

How do you capitalise on your IOSH membership?

While not necessarily understood by employers chartered membership has a status in itself – it is understood as a marker of quality. I benefit from the network of membership – either for personal development, or simply for the reassurance of having a peer group that can be drawn on.

What are your top two tips on getting a job in health and safety?

Listen more and speak less. Health and safety is a very fine balance between precision (as in, accuracy of safety advice) and pragmatism (it’s a manager’s business or service, let them run it, you just give the advice to help them manage safely). Get qualified early on in your career and keep the broadest possible CPD you can.

Who has had the biggest impact on your career, and how?

My first serious manager, Ricky Gleed in Cargill Meats Europe, was instrumental in opening my eyes to the wider impact OSH can have on a business – and he gave me the courage to step out of OH and into H&S. He probably doesn’t know how much I owe him – cheers boss!

If you could be anything other than a H&S practitioner, what would you be?

Although I’m quite happy as a H&S practitioner I have an interest in writing and wouldn’t mind a career in a creative area, but find both my H&S interim work and my voluntary work as a magistrate quite fulfilling as it is!