Health & Safety South will be held on 12 – 13th March at Sandown Park Racecourse, Esher. The event is promising a range of benefits for visitors, including a comprehensive conference programme providing up to the moment insights on the industry’s trends and updates on legislation. It will provide access to the best suppliers of products and services and give visitors the opportunity to network with other professionals
The conference programme, organised in conjunction with the British Safety Council, covers a wide range of relevant and pertinent topics affecting UK industries today and will be delivered by some respected experts. Opening the conference with a seminar entitled ‘Directors in the Dock – Could it be you?’ is Chris Green, head of regulatory services in the Midlands for Weightmans LLP. The seminar which is aimed at all employers as well as health and safety practitioners will look at the HSE’s Fee for Intervention (FFI) cost recovery scheme six months on and how that has affected industry. The seminar will also cover enforcement and inspection of safety in the Coalition era; charging for inspectors, common sense safety and the procedures for appealing enforcement notices.
Green says: “I’m hoping to give employers a better insight on their duties and responsibilities when it comes to health and safety within the company and give them a ‘heads up’ on what to look out for. The perception is that health and safety is being enforced disproportionately, and, judging by some of the recent media headlines people may now be less likely to volunteer to do a health and safety job due to this. So, with this seminar I’m hoping to straighten out any uncertainties an individual may have within their job role.”
Highlighting the fact that he believes health and safety should facilitate business is Shaun Davis, group director of Safety, Health & Wellbeing, Royal Mail Group with his seminar entitled ‘The Health and Safety Professional as a Business Partner’.
Commenting on the seminar which is aimed at all Health and Safety professionals, Davis says: “Business Partnering works really well in HR so why can’t it work in health and safety? HR business partnering is a well-known process whereby HR professionals work closely with business leaders and/or line managers to achieve shared organisational objectives. With this ‘track record’ of success I’m pretty certain we can all learn from this and apply some of the key techniques to develop stronger relationships in within organisations!”
Davis adds that this process may involve the formal designation of ‘Health and Safety Business Partners’, which means health and safety professionals who are embedded within the business, and sometimes act as part of a wider process of operations. If this is the case, which Davis proposes it is, certain questions arise such as: What is valuable business partnering?, Is there an Return On Investment, if so what is it?, What does business partnering look like?, What does success look like? and many more.
Something new for this year’s South event is the “Safety Dialogue’ Live Panel which will be held on both days of the event. The panel offers visitors the opportunity to engage with live debates surrounding the most significant issues of the day, and this year the panel of experts will focus on the issues surrounding Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) and specifically Face Fit testing for masks. The panel includes top names such as Frank Angear of British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) and Alan McArthur of 3M Safety Solutions.
There will also be a substantial exhibition where the leading product and service providers in the health and safety sector are exhibiting and will be available to advise on the latest technology and business practices.
Health & Safety South is supported by the British Safety Council, Safety Groups UK and it was recently announced 3M Safety Solutions is to be the lead sponsor. The event is officially endorsed by the International Institute of Risk & Safety Management (IIRSM). Health & Safety South is free to enter and has free parking but it is strongly recommend that visitors register in advance to facilitate speed of entry and for guaranteed seminar places as these are extremely popular.
Health & Safety South
T: 01342 333722
