on-demand webinar

Aligning technology with emerging health and safety risks

Safety experts discuss the benefits of utilising technology in managing workplace health and safety risks.

In the session, Safety and Security Lead at IKEA, Michael McCallion, Associate Director of Occupational Health and Safety at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Bryan Joseph, Head of Health and Safety at HFT, Daniel Mossman, Chief Technical Officer at Riskex, James Sharp, and Fleet Safety Support Manager at GoVia Thameslink Railway, Andy Cordwell, discuss – aligning technology with emerging health and safety risks.

SHP Editor, Ian Hart, begins the debate by asking the panel how they have gone about ensuring their employees are engaging safely during the pandemic.

Michael argues that the first step to guaranteeing employee engagement is through removing the fear surrounding health and safety compliance.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented significant challenges for those in charge of worker safety. Bryan goes on to discuss the trials he faced in attempting to safeguard both patients and staff at the peak of the pandemic, particularly those who were vulnerable. Bryan claims that technology played a significant part when it came to facing these challenges head-on and providing much-needed reassurance to patients.

What new risks have been particularly challenging to deal with?

Remote working most definitely has its benefits, however, as Bryan highlights, it has led to an increase in cases of Musculoskeletal Disorders. The pandemic has also, unsurprisingly, triggered an increase in the number of people battling stress and aggression.

Andy Fleet, Safety Support Manager at Thameslink, recalls how an un-proven case of an individual catching COVID through an air-conditioning system triggered a major potential risk for his business. Though there was no evidence to prove it, the organisation had to listen and act on employee concerns.

Another significant challenge the business faced was deciphering how tasks, normally carried out by multiple people, could be conducted in the safest way possible, with social distancing in mind. Michael claims IKEA had a similar issue, with home deliveries being an essential two-person job. Michael claims the business had to rethink every way they carried out manual handling and were aided by technology as a tool in creating risk assessments.

Technical Officer at Riskex, James, claims one of the most challenging aspects of managing risks during the pandemic was the fact that the complexity of hazards were everchanging. Ongoing alterations in terms of government guidance was difficult for the business to manage, so, within three weeks of the first lockdown, the organisation successfully created an online tool for clients to keep them constantly updated on government direction.

How has your organisation reacted to the news of mandatory COVID vaccines for healthcare professionals?

All panellists agree that their approach towards the news has been one of continuous support and engagement with no coercion on their part.

Michael argues that the best thing businesses can do is provide staff with clear facts to relieve any anxiety they may be feeling. Leaders need to understand that their workers may have previously been bombarded with an abundance of misinformation that ultimately impacted their initial decision, therefore, providing them with clear, concise information on the topic is crucial.

Want to find out more about how technology is aiding the alteration of the role of the health and safety professional? Watch the rest of the webinar on demand now…

Health and safety professionals have for many years, carried out a multi-disciplinary role. As with many roles that strongly rely on cross-functional working, the effective use of technology is critical to streamline processes, make data-driven decisions and ensure continual compliance with health and safety law and client contractual obligations.

This webinar is aimed at both Health and Safety Practitioners and Senior Management responsible for the safety and wellbeing of their employees and other stakeholders, across all industries and workplace settings. This webinar will provide delegates with the following insights:

How health and safety professionals have:

  • Engaged employees in thinking and acting safely during the pandemic regardless of their workplace environment
  • Leveraged technology to tackle the increased risks of remote working;
  • Mobilised efficiently to maintain compliance and optimise safety performance as part of their return-to-work strategies.

The webinar will include contributions from a panel of health and safety leaders from a cross section of industries, who will share their views and experiences regarding how they have seen the risk landscape change in light of the pandemic and how they anticipate health and safety software will evolve to address emerging risks going forward.

 

Speakers

View full bios

Michael McCallion

Michael McCallion, Safety & Security Leader, IKEA

Bryan Joseph, Associate Director of Occupational Health and Safety, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

Daniel Mossman CMIOSH, CMgr MCMI, CSMP M.ISMI,  Head of Health and Safety, HFT

Andy Cordwell, Fleet Safety Support Manager, GoVia Thameslink Railway

James Sharp Dip.RSA GradIOSH CITP, Chief Technical Officer, Riskex

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Speaker Bios

Michael McCallion

Michael McCallion
Safety & Security Leader, IKEA

I am the Safety & Security Leader within IKEA with the main responsibility for Health & Safety.  I have been with IKEA for 20 years in a variety of roles with the last 6 in the Risk & Compliance sector.  My role is to review our Health & Safety culture, implement a Health & Safety Management System and continually review our position utilising proven and finding new solutions to make our environment as safe as possible within the UK and IE.  I believe that technology contributes to an effective safety culture as the Health & Safety sector is data rich and at times knowledge poor regarding the root cause. Technology helps Safety Professionals to navigate through the information to reduce the near miss exposure.

Bryan Joseph
Associate Director of Occupational Health and Safety, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

My introduction to health & safety was an inspector with the Health & Safety Executive, covering a range of industrial sectors in my time with them. Subsequently, I have worked as a health & safety professional in the local authority sector and, more recently, the healthcare sector. Currently, I work for Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. I have been a chartered member of IOSH for over 20 years.

Daniel Mossman CMIOSH, CMgr MCMI, CSMP M.ISMI
Head of Health and Safety, HFT

As Head of Health & Safety for HFT (an £80 million turnover charity supporting people with learning disabilities), I have a national remit to drive safety performance within the organisation and ultimately, keep people safe and well at work. I’m passionate about my role and take immense pride in keeping the safety and wellbeing of our people at the heart of what we do.

Andy Cordwell
Fleet Safety Support Manager, GoVia Thameslink Railway

I have over 25+ years of experience in Train Maintaining, Production Management and Depot Operations. I am now an Occupational Safety Support Manager learning new skills and offering advice and support to ensure the company meets existing and new Health, Safety and Environmental challenges.

James Sharp Dip.RSA GradIOSH CITP
Chief Technical Officer, Riskex

As well as being CTO for Riskex, I am also a qualified Health & Safety Professional. This expertise allows me to fully understand HSE compliance requirements in detail, as well as every day challenges faced by the Health & Safety profession.
As the founding architect of Riskex’s Health & Safety SaaS platform AssessNET, I’m immensely proud of how we continually innovate to address emerging Risks and find new ways to help keep people healthy and safe at work.

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