Back on the road

Health & Safety North returns to The Reebok Stadium,
Bolton, on 10th and 11th October 2012.

The last in this year’s series of
regional events, Health & Safety
North will provide visitors with
free education, a conference programme
authored by the British Safety Council
and an exhibition with many of the best
known companies in the sector
participating.

The comprehensive conference
programme – chaired by Joscelyne Shaw,
head of policy and influencing for the
British Safety Council, on 10th October,
and Neal Stone, director of policy and
communications, on 11th October – is
designed to be as valuable as any paid-for
event.

London 2012 legacy
One of the most eagerly awaited seminars
will be ‘The Greatest Show on Earth –
Preparing for London 2012’, delivered by
Lawrence Waterman, head of health and
safety, Olympic Delivery Authority
(ODA). During his presentation,
Lawrence will be touching on a number of
themes that have brought the ODA a great
amount of success. One of the major
themes will be worker engagement and
the successful way in which this has been
used during the construction of the
Olympic venues.

Lawrence said: “By just taking a few
minutes before the start of every shift or
project to talk to the workforce about the
job they are undertaking, the equipment
they will use, the hazards that are present
and vitally, listening to them as they feed
back on related issues has had an
enormous effect. This is the kind of
information that we can now share with
people and that are relevant to all
workplaces.”
Speaking about why he is looking
forward to the event Lawrence added:
“There is a very clear reason why I would
take the chance to present at Bolton. The
ODA is a publicly funded organisation
very much focused on legacy. That legacy
doesn’t necessarily need to be bricks and
mortar. When Seb Coe was over in
Singapore seven years ago bidding for the
Olympics, part of his message was that the
legacy of the games would be used to
inspire people. Part of that is through the
health and safety success we have had –
we can inspire people to even greater
heights when working on large projects.

They can learn from our mistakes and
successes.”

Preparing for the long term
Other current hot topics are addressed in
the educational programme – for example
a presentation taking place on day one
will be ‘Climate change and Business
Resilience’, presented by Dr Keith
Whitehead, senior environmental advisor,
British Safety Council. The presentation
will provide an overview of business
responses to the actual and potential
impacts of climate change. “Proactive
companies need to be looking at and
predicting how climate change and severe
weather patterns will affect their business
in the long term,” Dr Whitehead said.
“Just this year we have had drought,
record rain fall, high spring temperatures,
high winds and snow. Businesses should
be starting to think about what can be
done now to adapt to and mitigate these
impacts so that any business is aware of
what to do when climate change does
affect their business.”

Update on prosecutions
Seminars which cover the legal landscape
are a regular, and hugely popular, element
of the conference programme. One such
seminar entitled ‘Health and Safety –
Looking Back at Last Year: Landmark
Judgments’ will be held in the afternoon
of the first day and will cover two areas.

The first will look at the most significant
court cases in the last 12 months and
consider how they impact on the defence
of future prosecutions and also what they
mean for health and safety professionals
in implementing risk management
strategies. The second area covers the
most recent cases successfully prosecuted
by Fire Authorities under the Regulatory
Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

The seminar is presented by Kevin
Bridge, partner and regulatory lawyer at
Pinsent Masons LLP, and is aimed at
safety professionals, directors, managers
and anyone who has responsibility for
health and safety risk management.

The path to auditor
As well as the British Safety Council
educational programme, there are other,
more practical, seminars taking place at
Health & Safety North. For example
visitors will be able to see NQA, with its
presentation entitled ‘Using Auditor
Training to Achieve Certification to
OHSAS 18001’.

Delivered by Andrew Burns Warren,
health and safety auditor, and Jonathan
Wilson, health and safety sector manager,
NQA, the presentation will cover the
process that an auditor goes through to
become firstly an internal auditor and
then a lead auditor. The presentation will
also briefly cover the background of
OHSAS 18001 and look at why companies
implement a health and safety
management system, looking at some
potential pitfalls and structures.

Innovative products and services
The event also has a substantial
exhibition area where some of the
leading product and service providers in
the health and safety industry are
exhibiting, and will be available to offer
advice on the latest technology and
business practices.

For example, NBC Bird & Pest
Solutions will be showcasing two of its
innovative bird control methods:
falconry and fake fire gel. Visitors will
have the opportunity to get up close and
personal with Hazel – a live Harris Hawk
– on stand 148, where qualified bird
control specialists will be on hand to
explain the company’s full range of
services.

To register online or access the full
conference programme timetable visit:
www.healthandsafetyevents.co.uk