HSM’s 18th anniversary

Val Kealey: HSM deputy editor 1999 – 2001

I was fortunate enough to work on the very first issue of Health & Safety Matters and remember the enthusiasm of its editor, Karl Lacey. He was a gentleman with very strong opinions about many things, one of which was the need in the industrial marketplace for a new magazine that would focus on health and safety in industry. When HSM was launched reader enquiry cards – or bingo cards as they were known – were commonplace in magazines and provided a very useful gauge of reader interest. After the first couple of issues, it became clear that Karl had been absolutely right in his views – HSM received literally hundreds of enquiries not just from its more in-depth features, but for some of its product pieces too.

It seems ludicrous now, but in those days Karl neither had nor wanted a computer. Instead, he would dictate articles for me to type on a PC. We then supplied the text to the production department who would design our page layouts on the studio's newly-acquired Apple Macs. However antiquated and long-winded that seems now, it worked at the time and HSM, of course, went from strength to strength.

Ian Clay: HSM editor 2001 – 2006

I’m not sure if it’s true but a story around the genesis of HSM tells of a chance encounter between a senior executive at Western Business Publishing and a plant manager at Rolls Royce at an exhibition. The tale goes that the plant manager bemoaned his lack of access to practical information regarding industrial health and safety…and thus the germ of the idea for HSM was sown.
 
Whatever the truth in that I thoroughly enjoyed my time at HSM’s helm and developed a passion for health and safety that remains alive to this day. I remember vividly how our interest in the technology around health and safety really separated the magazine from the pack. My first visit to the mammoth A+A event in Dusseldorf cemented our belief that we were really meeting a need when every exhibitor we met were impressed and so happy that a journalist wanted to hear about the technological innovation that they had sweated over…but that no other media or journalist was really interested in.
 
It’s more than a decade now since I edited the magazine and it’s been so interesting observing its maturation as it not only focuses on the industrial sector but encompasses construction, utilities and the public sector. Plus, it now covers industry issues but not, I am glad to say at the expense of technology.  In addition the magazine (and website and enews and blog and social media etc. etc.) are now closely aligned to the Health and Safety Events series and I fully expect to see them becoming even more attuned to the changing needs of the readers and the market. That’s the beauty of our modern communication tools – data, feedback, opinions – all available to us in real time and we can respond accordingly.
 
So, I’d like to say congratulations to all who have worked on the magazine over the years, and if I ever do find out who the Rolls Royce plant manager was I’d buy them a drink…it really was a good idea!
 

Georgina Bisby: HSM editor 2008 to 2014

Many people underestimate the breadth of knowledge required by a health & safety manager or appreciate the true challenges of the job, which is where Health & Safety Matters (HSM) has found success.

There were, and are, plenty of health & safety publications out there but HSM provides a huge volume of information in an accessible way and its focus on new technology and the application of this technology is second-to-none.

The HSM readership’s hunger for information means they are an engaged, appreciative audience who are a joy to write for and made my time editing HSM a pleasure. I also enjoyed meeting many HSM readers at the regional Health & Safety Events where our conversations about the challenges of working in health & safety helped to continually shape the direction and content of the magazine.

Another one of HSM’s great strengths has been its independence. While there have been strategic partnerships with organisations such as the BSIF, HSM has never been answerable to a single organisation. Consequently the magazine hasn't been distracted or compromised by politics and the editors have had the freedom to focus on what the magazine does best; helping to protect people.

On a personal level, working in health & safety changes you forever. The UK has a comparatively good health & safety record and significant progress has been made but there is still a lot of work to be done. This is particularly apparent in the construction sector where my efforts are now focussed. Reaching and influencing the average builder with the health & safety message is an altogether different task to talking to health & safety managers but my time on HSM has left me both compelled and inspired to do so. I’ve also once again been surprised by and grateful for this audience's hunger for information.

I hope HSM has inspired you too.

Happy 18th anniversary HSM and congratulations to everyone who has played a role in the magazine’s success.

Catherine Hackett: HSM associate editor 2012 to present

One welcome development that particularly stands out for me since joining HSM in 2012 has been the increase in attention paid to occupational health – traditionally the poor relation of safety – and in particular to long latency diseases.

Some fantastic campaigns have helped to raise awareness of the devastating impact of long latency diseases – including IOSH's No Time to Lose campaign, which was launched in November 2014 to alert businesses and employees to the causes of occupational cancers. In its first year alone, the international campaign directly reached hundreds of thousands of workers.

In April 2015, The Breathe Freely campaign was launched by the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) to tackle the incidence of occupational lung disease in the construction industry. Two years later, it has signed up more than 160 supporters from across the construction industry and delivered over 60 Breathe Freely talks around the country.

There are, of course, many more organisations and associations carrying out great research and campaigning work into the field of long latency disease, and we can expect this to continue.

An even more recent development has been the focus on mental health. Long stigmatised and swept under the carpet, mental health is now starting to be discussed publicly in our society in general and specifically in our workplaces.  

A sector-wide programme was launched at the beginning of 2017 to help improve and promote positive mental health across the construction industry in the UK. Mates in Mind has been set up by the Health in Construction Leadership Group with the support of the British Safety Council. Who would have thought even a few years ago that mental health would be or could be talked about so honestly and openly at work – let alone in what is perceived to be a traditionally 'macho' environment?

So, over the past five years at HSM I have witnessed a national health and safety industry refusing to rest on its laurels – and quite rightly.

According to the latest HSE statistics, the UK has the least number of fatal injuries when compared to other large EU economies, but we know that one fatal injury is still one too many. Furthermore, the UK comes in second place when looking at the percentage of self-reported, work-related injuries and health problems resulting in sick leave.

There is plenty of work still to be done but the UK health and safety industry is stepping up to the plate: It is no longer enough to ensure that all workers return home safely at the end of the day – they have the right to return home healthy and happy too, now and for years to come, long after they have retired.