Audits

Audits can be undertaken on your company's activities, mainly using the published standards HSG65, though I am happy to use any other recognised standard that you select and have documented (including internal standards).

Audits can be on a whole company, a geographical area (such as a plant), a process, or an activity. Also on any logical combination of these.

If you want to accompany me on the whole process, then that is perfectly acceptable, and I am happy to undertake joint audits to assist with upskilling or quality control with internal staff.

You will get a report showing how you compare with the selected standard, and containing my advice on how to improve your compliance with your selected standards and the legal requirements.

Reports will typically also contain images and references to published material. On occasions, additional materials may also be added (such as training aids or checklists) that you may find useful.

Inspections

Inspection is an element of Audit but it can also be provided as a stand-alone service.

Inspections can be undertaken of any place, process or activity where you have concerns about the work undertaken and want a simpler form of check than an Audit.

Joint inspections with in-house staff are welcome and they can be used as part of a training programme to help your staff develop (or maintain) their skills in this critical area.

Reports typically include recommendations and references to the current standards, and may also have other items attached (such as training materials or checklists).

Investigations

Investigations (following the HSG245 standards) can be undertaken into any activity, incident, accident, near-miss, complaint - basically anything.

The purpose of the investigation is to find out what (if anything) went wrong, and more importantly, what needs to be done to make sure it does not go wrong again in the future.

The output from an investigation can be anything from a simple report, to a file of advice and support, or even work to defend or support legal action. The outputs you desire (but not the results) are defined at the start of the process.

Accredited Training

Training can be provided choosing from the IOSH and NEBOSH families of courses facilitated via a national course supplier.

These are nationally and internationally recognised qualifications.

Bespoke Training

Training can be written for a very wide range of issues to suite your specific needs. As a qualified educator as well as an experienced practitioner I will provide you with the training, delivery and materials, and also enable you to undertake refresher and limited in-house training following the delivery of the courses. Once provided the training is yours to use again if you have the competency to deliver it in-house.

All courses are developed using current published standards and all materials are copyright protected with permission for in-house reproduction.

Courses have included:

• Special sessions for a Theatre to facilitate new staff to deal with both work at height and manual handling issues in this unique environment, incorporating the sector guidance (from the ABTT).
• Dedicated manual handling training for staff at a chemical plant to facilitate the new plant design, assist with developing new risk assessments, and work towards a reduction in lost time incidents.
• COSHH training for laboratory workers involved in the development of new substances and methods, where the more conventional courses simply did not provide sufficient skill.

All staff attending my courses will be provided with either certificates of attendance (for non-validated courses) or certificates of achievement (if they can demonstrate a suitable understanding at the end of the course).

Training is validated by either:

• a test of understanding (using a written paper);
• a practical project to demonstrate understanding (such as the first risk assessment undertaken after the training has been delivered, or undertaking a full fire evacuation for fire wardens and marshals); or
• a practical demonstration of the new skill (for example performing an unassisted safe evacuation chair run).

All training records are maintained for five years by us backing up your own records, and we also maintain information on the exact content of what was delivered (in case you have a dispute about the training delivered and need to prove the competency achieved).

Expert Witness

I am a registered Expert Witness on the UK Register of Expert Witnesses. My registration is for my expertiese in health and safety and the listing is publically available.

I have won awards three years running for the range and competency of the Expert Witness services available. All my clients have been very satisfied with the outcomes achieved.

The outputs will depend on the issue being considered. They have included reports for civil and criminal matters, investigations into internal issues in companies, and Court appearances.

Sometimes all you need is an opinion to help you make that complex decision. More often though it is an opinion based on a reasoned judgement with a clearly argued case that is backed up with legal and guidance references and case histories. You get to choose how much detail you want in the report, and how far you want to go with any case or potential case. An expert is not there to tell you what to do, but to guide with reasoned argument and support your proposals (and of things go to Court to support the Court in understanding the full range of issues as they impact on your case).

General consultancy

Basically providing advice and support on most health and safety areas. If I cannot do this directly then I will find you somebody who can.

Services have included:

• Writing (and re-writing) health and safety policies for organisations from just three staff (who did not need one by law but decided to have one to improve their marketability) through to a large metropolitan University (re-written from about 900 pages to about 70 pages).
• Developing safe systems of work for people involved in activities that are just a little different from the normal (including shotblasting the underside of a large bridge; developing the safety protection of TV stunts; supporting TV companies in their film work; stage productions; acting as an 'event safety officer'; and much more).
• Supporting companies in putting together grant bids and tender documentation where the safety elements were significant.

The outcomes from general consultancy are really as varied as the questions put. Basically, you decide what you want, and then we talk, then you get what you asked for.

Once client wanted their waste disposal bill reduced, and by looking at the organisation of waste in their facility we were able to reduce the bill by roughly a third, with no costs involved to achieve this. Now we are working on the next third!

Long Term Contract Support

I can offer clients based in the North East long term contracts to support their activities. These contracts are detailed on my website at www.safety4hed.co.uk, and I tailor the specifics to suit the client. In general they include unlimited general advisory plus a specified number of visits per quarter (to do whatever is needed) along with a 1/3 discount on any other services requested (training, additional visits, investigations etc).

These services are invoiced quarterly in arrers, with a generous 32 days to pay.

Basically, you decide what you want, and then we talk, then you get what you asked for, and you keep on getting it.

Some clients just want to have the reassurance that there is somebody that they can call on when they need additional assistance. For a small monthly sum this can be provided.

Other clients want regular support of specific projects to be backed up - again for a small monthly sum along with additional project costs as they arrise this is easilly catered for.

In all cases the charges made will be given a generous 1/3 discount from our standard charges to reflect that you are long term clients.

Display Screen Equipment (DSE)

General and more complex DSE assessments can be undertaken or advise and support provided to assist you to undertake your own DSE assessments. Experience with undertaking and assisting people to develop compliant solutions when there are issues identified, including technical solutions, ergonomic changes and training as necessary.

People need to be comfortable to work efficiently, and not suffer long term health effects from poor posture and excess force. Sometimes this requires a better understanding onf the issues (provided by training), sometimes a better layout of the work station (provided by adjustments and explanations for the user or users) and sometimes it needs specific modifications or specialist equipment to help people cope. The last of these is relatively rare but will especially apply where a person has a disability, is of a non-British standard size, or has an injury that restricts movemment or causes pain. 

All workstations can be modified to make them suit the user.

Fire

Experience in workplace fire risk assessments, making workplaced safer, and fires less likely.

Experience in modifying processes and workplace layouts to make fires less likely and less damaging should they happen. This includes the selection of suitable fire alarms and fire fighting equipment as well as the provision of enclosures and other physical protection.

Training of staff on how to respond to fires, 

A safer workplace where fire is a more controled risk, and people are less likely to be harmed by fires.

Better trained staff so that they will understand the correct responce to take in your specific workplace. Including training staff to maintain the workplace fire precautions, and understand what should not be altered without reassessing the risks involved.

Better planning for your workplace to maintain a long term fire-safe workplace, maintain the precautions needed, and help prevent future changes from damaging your workplace fire protection. 

Inspections of Common parts

Undertaking inspections of the common parts of workpalce and non-workplace structures to assist landlords in identifying the hazards and controls needed for the premises.

A better defined hazard profile of the structure, to enable planning of the controls needed, and assist with co-operation between tenents where necessary.

Better definition of maintenance issues and assistance in identifying what is working well and what may need to be improved upon.

Checling against the legal standards to identify potential breaches (or future breaches) so that matters can be corrected as necessary.

Manual Handling

Surveys of manual handling operations undertaken to identify potential issues, especially those that may lead to injury (from accidents) or long term health effects (from accumulated low level damage).

Training staff in undertaking manual handling operations in their industrial setting.

Training in how to undertake your own manual handling risk assessment.

Training trainers so that they can deliver internal courses for manual handling trainng to staff. The train the trainer courses also include a written course for the new trainers to use.

Everything is bespoke to the actual work undertaken on your site - no 'pick up the empty box' sessions.

A better idea of the manual handling risks you have.

Better solutions to the problems that you know about.

Better trained staff, so that they are at less risk.

The ability to train your own people to maintain high standards internally.

Assistance in implementing the solutions identified, including selecting equipment and redesiging processes and devices where necessary.

Coaching

A mentor under the IOSH and IIRSM schemes, I will also provide mentor and coaching services to other health and safety professionals or duty holders. The purpose of coaching and mentoring is to enable people to better undertake their own roles.

Mentoring is where a person provides their experience to help you understand your issues, options and actions, and help you to better develop your own strategies to cope and advance in what you do.

Coachng is a mix of mentoring and training, and is more targeted at improving specific skills, not only assisting people to find and evaluate direction.

The person being mentored or coached will be better able to identify their own solutions, understand the options they have and undertake the actions needed to achieve them. In the case of coaching they will also have assistance in starting oor training to undertake the actions concerned.

These skills are provided in a health and safety context - but often, once mastered, they can be applied in a wide range of situations and disciplines. This is because they help you to better understand yourself and your situation.

COSHH

Assisting companies to undertake their COSHH assessments. 

Assisting, not doing them for you, because you need to own and understand the assessments so that you can keep them up to date, and understand the implications of changes.

In addition to the assessment there is also the need to understand the measure that need to be taken, as standard operating procedures, training, maintenance and many other factors through the company (even including the purchasing and procurement decisions and how they may impact on your risks).

By the end of the process you will own and understand your COSHH assessments, and the way that you implement the actions needed, and will be in a safer state, with better plans in place to cope with any eventualities. In short, your will be less likely to have things go wrong, and more able to manage and contain them if they do, reducing the impact of any problems that do occur.

You can download by current CV from my website at www.safety4hed.co.uk or from my LinkedIn pages.

I am a member of the following professional organisations:

• A Fellow of the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (FIIRSM)
• A Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health (FRSPH)
• A Member of the Institute for Safety in Technology and Research (MISTR)
• A member of the Health and Safety Lawyers Association, and
• an Affiliate of the Chartered Institute of Egronomics and Human Factors

I hold four degrees in different subject areas (see list) as well as my EurOSHM qualification. In addition to this I maintain an active interest in numerous other fields relating to business and management.