HEALTH & SAFETY
The value of health & safety in challenging times
Health & Safety can often be viewed as a costly exercise – here Dr Esther Walker, Director of Forum Interactive, views it as a considerable commercial advantage. In this introductory piece to forthcoming articles she explains the reasoning.
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH (IOSH) ANNUAL CONFERENCE, LONDON,MARCH 2011
One of the most popular workshops at the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) annual conference held in London in March 2011, concerned how to build a business case for health and safety.
The popularity of the workshop demonstrates that in times of economic downturn health & safety professionals need all the influencing and persuasive skills they can muster as leaders look for ways to make cuts and maintain profitability.
FINANCIAL PRESSURE
Financial pressure exposes the underlying attitude that organisations take to health and safety. At one end of the continuum are those organisations that treat health & safety as a cost to the business. For them, health & safety presents an opportunity for cost cutting when times are hard.
At the other end, are those that consider health & safety as a core value of the organisation. Such organisations see their commitment to continuous improvement in health & safety as a way of differentiating themselves from the competition, and building the business. For them, during an economic downturn, what becomes important is how they communicate this commitment to potential clients.
WIND ENERGY INDUSTRY
The onshore wind energy sector offers a particular challenge to producers and contractors with regards to health and safety. The construction phase of a wind farm is where most of the recorded incidents occur. It is a complex process in which the various contractors working alongside one another often have different safety cultures and, in an increasingly pan-European context, different languages and working habits.
STANDARDS
The ISO 9000 family of standards relating to quality management systems represents the entry level for organisations competing for tenders in this sector. But, as everyone knows, the gap between what these standards claim is happening on the ground and what is actually going on can be considerable. Furthermore, over the lifetime of a contract, standards can fall.
Under this premise, any contractor in the wind sector who can demonstrate their commitment to continuous improvement in health and safety, beyond ISO 9000, has a competitive advantage. Forward- thinking organisations understand this challenge and are taking action.
For the employer organisation overseeing the construction process, the challenge is to establish and maintain a standardised, effective safety culture. Forward-thinking organisations recognise that this can only be achieved if contractors can a) agree at the outset on how they will run a safe site and b) develop an effective communication strategy to bring that about.
FORTHCOMING ARTICLES
In this series of articles we will examine the challenges from both the contractor and employers perspective and show what they are doing to overcome these challenges. In particular, we will look at how forward thinking contractors in the wind energy sector are committing to continuous improvement in H&S, how they can demonstrate that commitment to their clients, and how this process can deliver competitive advantage.
The articles will be supported by commentary from Chris Black, Health, Safety and Quality Manager at ScottishPower Renewables and chair of the RenewableUK Health & Safety Lessons Learnt scheme, and David MacDonald, Civil Engineering Director of Global Construction.
CASE STUDY
We will include a case study looking at how the challenges identified are being met using an innovative approach to health and safety improvement based on action learning and group coaching strategies.
Dr EstherWalker Forum Interactive
www.foruminteractive.co.uk
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96