Stories from our Health and Safety Newsletter

James Sharp Dip.RSA GradIOSH CITP

James Sharp is Riskex’s CTO and founding architect of the Riskex flagship health and safety software brand, AssessNET. Safety professionals with expertise in IT are a rare find; but one that fits that profile is James Sharp, GradIOSH. James has taken his health and safety qualifications to NEBOSH diploma level. He was a programmer before joining Riskex to develop its cloud-based safety management system, AssessNET. “Whilst I was creating the AssessNET platform, I embarked on a professional learning and qualification journey so that I could better understand what health and safety leaders and practitioners need technology to do for them”.

Nikki Porter

Nikki Porter is the Riskex Managing Director, with responsibility for the leadership and development of the Riskex business, Nikki’s key focus is to drive forward the company’s evolution, leading the go-to-market strategies for its growing software portfolio and channel partner approach. Nikki Has more than 20-plus years of experience in the Risk Management and Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) industries, with a strong track record of successfully bringing health and safety services and products to market. Her previous roles have included the British Standards Institution, Alcumus and Barbour EHS.

Quintin Matthee

Quintin Matthee, Head of Technical Operations for Riskex is responsible for the technical operations customer support team and has a strong background in SaaS project delivery management. Quintin also plays a pivotal role in the future direction of the Riskex health and safety management solution, AssessNET.

Gareth Godfrey

Gareth Godfrey, Head of Sales for Riskex is responsible for understanding all of our clients health and safety needs and working with the development team to engineer a solution that best fits their business. Gareth has a wealth of experience in helping organisations to create business cases for investing in EHS Software as well as helping them to realise the value of their ISO 45001 certification by digitising paper-based processes.

Keynote Panel Discussion: How do you know if a strong Health and Safety Culture is part of your organisations DNA?

It is a truth universally acknowledged that building a strong culture of health and safety is the most crucial factor in keeping people safe and well at work. There are several renowned studies that evidence the link between safety culture and corporate safety performance. This lively panel-based session will be facilitated by our very own Nikki Porter and sets out to provoke thought and share insights, drilling deep into the following questions: - What does a strong safety culture look like? - What do we mean by making a strong safety culture part of your organisations DNA? - How do you influence senior management to “Walk the Talk”? - How do you overcome the employee mind sets that underlie unsafe behaviours? - The role of technology in building a strong safety culture

Speakers

Steve Smith, Marc Christian, Matt Hall, Kevin Barr, Tim Marsh, James Sharp

CoSHH Management: Rationalising your substance inventory

The latest statistics from the HSE show that there are an estimated 13,000 deaths each year linked to past exposure at work, primarily to chemicals, dust, or asbestos. This presentation sets out to show how global Facilities Management Organisation, ISS UK & Ireland tackles CoSHH to demonstrate not only legal compliance but also take a proactive stance on continually rationalising its Substance inventory and in turn, reducing the hazards associated with CoSHH throughout the organisation. The presentation will cover how they; - Create and Review CoSHH Risk Assessments and associated MSDS. - Continually reduce the hazards associated with CoSHH and make decisions on what substances are available for use within the organisation. - Educate workers on the importance of reading, understanding, and following CoSHH Assessments

Speaker

Speaker TBC ISS UK & Ireland

AssessNET Customer Use Case #1 Imperial College NHS

Managing health and safety Risks within an NHS trust is a complex matter, with many facets to consider. The duty of care in a healthcare setting not only applies to employees, but to others affected by work activities, particularly patients/clients who may be vulnerable due to treatments, disability and/or or ill health. Matt Hall, Associate Director of Health, Safety and Working Environment for Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, will provide an insightful case study on how the Trust approaches health and safety management and how they use the AssessNET SaaS platform to optimise health and safety performance through robust Risk Assessment processes and proactive audits. Moreover, Matt will address the importance of making informed decisions based on analysing real-time health and safety metric data.

Speaker

Matt Hall Associate Director of Health, Safety and Working Environment Imperial College NHS Trust

AssessNET AssessNET: Customer Use Case #2 NHBC

The National Housebuilding Council (NHBC) are the UKS leading provider of warranty and insurance for new homes. In this case study presentation, Phillip Hallgate, Group Health and Safety Manager will provide an insight into the inherent health and safety risks pertinent to NHBC and explain how digitizing their Risk Assessment process using AssessNET has helped him to achieve key health and safety objectives and put NHBC on the path to achieving certification to the internationally-recognised occupational health & safety management system standard, ISO 45001.

Speaker

Phillip Hallgate CertIOSH , MITOL, MaPS Head of Health & Safety NHBC

Protecting Workers from Workplace Violence

Data collected for the 2019/20 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) reported an estimated 688,000 instances of violence at work. UK Health and safety law applies to risks from work-related violence, just as it does to other workplace risks. Yet workplace violence can be an everyday reality in some professions, for example, Violent and aggressive incidents are the third biggest cause of injuries reported under RIDDOR from the health and social care sector. This presentation sets out to provide some practical guidance on managing workplace violence Our speaker, Marc Christian has extensive experience in building strategies for workplace violence prevention, most recently in a senior risk management position for an international domiciliary care organisation.

Speakers

Marc Christian MIFSM, TechIOSH, MAFP, GiFireE Managing Director Ollickson Rad

Human Error Reduction: How to educate and empower your people

Human error has been seen as the cause of many catastrophic events for organisations worldwide. Yet getting to the root of these errors can prove to be difficult. During this presentation, Professor Tim Marsh draws on elements of his renowned training course, “Human Error Reduction through Education and Empowerment” to deliver an elementary understanding of why staff perform errors, the impact on businesses and what can be done about it. Moreover, Tim will draw out pertinent elements of the HSE study on the topic of Reducing Error and Influencing Behaviour – HSG48, which addresses questions such as “why should I be interested in Human Factor Issues at Work?” and “how do I manage the influencers on human performance?”

Speaker

Tim Marsh PhD; MSc; CFIOSH; CPsychol; SFIIRSM Co-founder Anker & Marsh

Stakeholder Mastery: How to sell Health & Safety

As the Risk Management industry has evolved, we have recognised that success goes beyond protocols. Join Kevin Barr in exploring how integrating strategic sales techniques enhances our existing health and safety practices. Recognising the importance of stakeholder mapping and relationship-building, we'll delve into practical, day-to-day strategies that seamlessly complement our roles as risk management professionals. This session goes beyond theory, offering insights rooted in research and personal experiences. Together, let's discover how incorporating sales techniques elevates our ability to navigate stakeholder dynamics, fortify relationships, and contribute to a positive culture of health and safety. Kevin, a well-known and respected figure in health and safety circles, utilises his extensive experience to assist teams in navigating organisational challenges. Renowned for his pragmatic approach, Kevin leads teams to think beyond typical strategies and consider a wider scope of methodologies for the modern Risk Management practitioner. Ensuring not only compliance but also effective "selling" of the safety culture, fostering commitment throughout the workforce.

Speaker

Kevin Barr CMIOSH PIEMA Senior Data Centre Operations Health & Safety Manager Telehouse Europe

Marc Christian MIFSM, TechIOSH, MAFP, GiFireE Health & Safety Consultant

Marc Christian is a senior health and safety professional having gained over 30 years of experience across multiple business sectors. A proven track record in leadership and managing and consulting for health and safety, fire safety and well-being for businesses and achieving improved operations and business stability. Marc is an enthusiastic and friendly individual with a progressive and inclusive leadership style. Marc has been responsible for all aspects of workplace health safety and wellbeing and now sports a plethora of businesses to help them manage business risk.

Tim Marsh PhD; MSc; CFIOSH; CPsychol; SFIIRSM Co-Founder of Anker & Marsh

Professor Tim Marsh, then at UMIST, was one of the team leaders of the original UK research into behavioural safety (in construction) in the early 1990s. He is considered a world authority on the subject of behavioural safety, safety leadership and organisational culture, was awarded a “President’s Commendation” in 2008 by the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management and was selected to be their first ever ‘Specialist Fellow’ in 2010. Founder of Ryder Marsh Safety he has worked with more than 400 major organisations around the world, including many international oil and gas, utility, chemical, transport and manufacturing organisations as well as the European Space Agency, the BBC, the National Theatre and Sky.

Kevin Barr CMIOSH PIEMA Senior Data Centre Operations Health & Safety Manager, Telehouse Europe

Kevin is a passionate leader and strategic thinker with extensive experience in empowering individuals and teams to put health and safety at the forefront of their decision-making. In addition to his role at Telehouse Europe, Kevin is also a Non-Executive Director and Trustee at various Charities including the One Percent Safer Charity, a global movement that aims to improve workplace safety by 1%, potentially saving thousands of lives annually. He also serves as the Chair of the IOSH Chiltern Branch.

Matt Hall Associate Director of Health, Safety and Working Environment, Imperial College NHS Trust

Matt is a highly experienced Director of Safety, with a demonstrable track record of delivering long lasting change in safety culture across multiple sectors and in particular, Hospitals & Healthcare, Higher Education, and Research. Amongst his accolades, Matt was the winner of the 2022 SHP Trailblazer award for his role in driving fit testing and PPE provision at the Royal Free hospital at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The SHP Trailblazer award one of the most renowned awards in the health and safety industry and one that provides testament to Matt’s strong people skills and ability to overcome challenges in unprecedented times.

Phillip Hallgate CertIOSH , MITOL, MaPS Head of Health & Safety, NHBC

Phil is a senior health and safety management professional who has a wealth of experience in driving positive change in the discipline of health and safety. He has recently led the Risk Assessment Digitisation project for NHBC as part of his wider strategy to engage workers in good health and safety management as well as his quest to support NHBC in achieving ISO 45001 certification. Phil is also Vice Chair for SSIP - Safety Schemes in Procurement. SSIP is the mutual recognition scheme for occupational health and safety standards particularly within construction. SSIP facilitates mutual recognition between health and safety pre-qualification schemes saving time, effort, and cost of multiple certifications.

Stephen Smith CMIOSH, OSHCR Managing Director, Sphere RHSM

Steve is Managing Director of Sphere RHSM and a Chartered Health and Safety Practitioner with extensive experience in supporting clients across a wide range of industries with their health and safety challenges. Steve’s people-focussed approach underlies the strong relationships he builds with clients to help them continually improve their health and safety performance. Sphere RHSM is a Health and safety consultancy, established over 18 years ago and are proud partners to Riskex, acting as our primary delivery partner for our new, fully-managed CoSHH service, AssessNET CoSHH Plus.