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March 7, 2012

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“Put yourself out of a job,” HSE chair challenges practitioners

The chair of the HSE has urged delegates at the IOSH12 conference to make health and safety as easy to understand as possible for the people they work with, so that they can get on with their jobs.

Speaking as part of a panel debate, which explored whether health and safety practitioners are the cause or the solution to negative perceptions of the profession, Hackitt said she was more hopeful than at any point in the “journey” that the image of health and safety will soon change for the better.

She said: “This profession is at a very important point of its evolution. Where you want to be and where you want to be seen to be is a question you have to ask yourself.”

She added that all too often she hears health and safety practitioners demonstrate their knowledge by referring back to specific clauses of legislation – an approach she described as unhelpful in trying to win hearts and minds.

“Your aim is to do yourself out of a job,” she remarked. “Your job is to make everyone as passionate about health and safety as we are. Once we have done that, our job is done. But we do that by motivating them, not by burdening them with paperwork, or boring them with tedium.”

Fellow panellist Neil Budworth described practitioners as both the cause and the solution to the problem of how to change negative perceptions of health and safety. He said the profession is, to the Daily Mail, the “new British Rail sandwich”, while Jeremy Clarkson wears his desire to challenge health and safety like a “coat”. He also expressed an air of bemusement at David Cameron’s recent comments to “wage war” on health and safety.

However, he also admitted that sometimes, the problem lies closer to home, within the profession itself: “We need to be strategic partners and work with business to deliver benefits. We’ve become process and policy-obsessed.” The future, added Budworth, can be different, but it’s up to the profession to shape it.

Echoing these sentiments, James Wolfe, deputy director for health and well-being at the Department for Work and Pensions, urged delegates to take advantage of the momentum that currently exists to reclaim the reputation of health and safety as a force for good.

He summed it up simply: “There’s no smoke without fire. If people stop making poor decisions in the name of health and safety, then [these negative stories] will go away, so it’s important that we challenge them.”

But he also reassured practitioners that they don’t need to take the whole reputation for health and safety on their shoulders, and that the correct course of action is for everyone in the health and safety community to do a little bit. He cited, for example, that consultants should ensure they deliver high-quality services, that the courts should implement the Jackson reforms regarding civil litigation costs, that insurers should stand by their recent commitments to tackle perceptions of a compensation culture, and that the Government will continue to push through its reforms in this area. If everyone does their bit, he suggested, then the good reputation of health and safety can be restored.

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Alan
Alan
12 years ago

The chair of the HSE really should take a look back over the past few years and dwell on the fact her organisation has largely stood by and been party to the sad decline in the reputation of Health and Safety. She needs to ask herself some very searching questions what the HSE is going to do to change things for the better and take the lead in supporting those of us working at the coal face.

Alan
Alan
12 years ago

When giving advice to those that do not understand or are aware the consequences of getting it wrong or are in clear breach of Health and Safety Regulation it is sometimes necessary to quote Legislation. When taking about / advising employers about legal duties as fas as I am concerned it is my job that when required I point these out . Advice such as ‘I know, try not to injure or kill anyone to-day’ is plain enough but not good enough or indeed professional enough.

Andrew
Andrew
12 years ago

Bingo! I tell all the Engineers and designers and operators that I work with, “Whatever it is you want to do, I’m not here to stop you doing it. I’m here to help you do it in a way that doesn’t hurt or kill anyone.” I also skydive, ride a motorcycle on the highway, do extreme-events and dabble on the footplate of old steam locomotives. I find these give me a balanced perspective when it comes to the assessment and mitigation of risk.

Barrycooper
Barrycooper
12 years ago

I’m a practical professional, and avoid paper work and put in place practical solutions, but the last few years I’ve had many dealing with insurance companies with regard to claims, eg NIHL.
Unless you have noise assessments, proof of issue of PPE and that you enforced its use and that you trained the person, have audiograms for when they started and left the company, they will not defend the claim. It’s the same with other claims. Insurer say unless you have all evidence they will settle

Bob
Bob
12 years ago

For an organization that operates entirely in a grey area of management dogma, its a bit rich to expect others to resolve the woes of the nations H&S by detailing simple solutions.

I spent 2 yrs as an IOC with the HSE and was amazed at the lack of specific knowledge required for designated industry sectors.

When released during the cut backs, I was advised to apply for a posistion in Factories?

30 yrs in Construction, WTF do I know about factories, you know the law I was told?

JH Sod Off.

David
David
12 years ago

Legislation has it’s place and it is we professionals who should lead by practical and helpful implementation. Chapter and verse should be kept to areas where management may need to be reminded of their obligations.

Knowledge of legislation is implied by appointment, if you need to spout it every 5 minutes then that is time wasted when you could be helping colleagues out on the site.

David
David
12 years ago

I developed accidentbook.org after accidently viewing accident statistics for local authority care homes – while on a contract. 100s of accidents (trips and falls) hidden away in accident books for just one local authority. Data that can never be correlated.
Then I realised the system was being made even more difficult to report a serious incident – since you don’t tie the two together. So I did with accidentbook.org!
Then I realised that safety reps may not be notified – so I fixed that as well

Dennismoon141
Dennismoon141
12 years ago

Just common sense such as we practiced in the past is all that is needed.
After my efforts regarding Hastings Road Humps with HSE who refuse to carry out their statutory responsibilities, little wonder people ask. Has H & S gone mad?
If HSE carry out their responsibilities there should be no need to put blame on our profession.
Dennis Moon 78 years old.
Past: MIOSH: RSP: MIIRSM: MRSH: ( Retired)

Ianmiles2000
Ianmiles2000
12 years ago

Frankly, could Hackitt or Wolfe have been any more patronising? Once again it’s all the fault of H&S practitioners but no evidence is provided beyond a ‘no smoke without fire’ cliché.

Burdening them with paperwork? It’s the regs, insurers and solicitors that demand it. Boring them with tedium? All the practitioners I know are pragmatic and business orientated. Poor decisions in the name of H&S? Please don’t confuse biased tabloid stories about non-work related incidents with OSH, tosh!

Kelleeandsteve
Kelleeandsteve
12 years ago

Without referring to regulations to understand fully what is required then what do you suppose we do? You have to take a practical approach and everyone practices H&S differently. I like to ensure that I am fully aware of regulations applying to a specific task so that I am making my employees aware of what is expected of them. I find the story disturbing and all they are trying to do is blame H&S on failings of companies in general. What a sad country this has become.

Kenpatrick
Kenpatrick
12 years ago

“she hears health and safety practitioners demonstrate their knowledge by referring back to specific clauses of legislation – an approach she described as unhelpful in trying to win hearts and minds”

While I strongly agree I would urge the HSE chair to look at her own troops, I have often encountered inspectors demonstrating their knowledge in the same unhelpful way.

Ray
Ray
12 years ago

Rather than using cheap sound-bites MS Hackitt and her orgnanisation should look at making regulations and ACoPs clearer, simpler and better written, so that the ordinary man on the ominbus can understand the need for good health and safety practices.

BTW, many safety practitoners are out of work due to this current recession and this governments condementaion of our industry!

Ray
Ray
12 years ago

I think the responses so far to Ms Hackitt’s comments just show how far she and her organisation have become detached from maintstream health and safety practitioners. I wish someone could send her all the comments so that she could make a response.

Any possibility Editor? Might make an interesting article…

Safetylady
Safetylady
12 years ago

The HSE are guilty of paperwork dogma themselves. The old ‘5 steps’ is rolled out as a response to anything and everything. HSE advice, including on-site by inspectors, is limited to this mantra, which encourages the thoughtless and lazy production of ‘forms’ which do little to manage anything but expectations of the legal profession.

Tfry
Tfry
12 years ago

Tell that to the legal profession!!! Health and Safety Professionals constantly referring to clauses in legislation, which mean very littel to anyone other than health and safety professionals is not helpful, I agree. Is it not a health and safety professionals job to comminucate often complicated legislation into a language that people can understand, I think so. How about if health and safety professionals advice was ” I know, try not to injure or kill anyone today” is that plain enough.

Torna01
Torna01
12 years ago

I think that h&S has gone wrong because of the claim culture, all to often no win no fee pusue cases if they really came and did a proper investigatio on the ground would not take to court rather they go by the same clauses that they chair is talking about, and rather than taking to court the companies insurance settle and just pass these cost increased premiums and huge amount of paperwork. it not just the insurance but individuals need to have a think about the claims they put through.