Colin talks to Jessy Gomes, an award-winning safety leader and member of the IOSH council, with a proven track record of commercial success and development, including management of construction design, health and safety, processes, communications and people.

Jessy discusses the importance of challenging the safety sector when it comes to crucial issues such as diversity, especially in the construction industry, the importance of mentorship and guidance, and how she visualises the future of safety in the workplace.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• As safety professionals we must always be learning, but more importantly, we should also work to build upon the lessons we have been taught so far. Refine our knowledge and we build our skills.
• Construction is renowned as being a male-dominated sector. It will take a creative female perspective in order to disrupt this balance, but the benefits will be enormous.
• We need a far more holistic view when it comes to the safety industry. Effective safety is built upon better communication and better collaboration. Organisations must not be complacent.
• We must make ourselves uncomfortable in order to learn more. When we step outside of our comfort zones, our sense become heightened. Therefore, we must challenge ourselves regularly in order to maximise our potential.

BEST MOMENTS

'This is where I really learned about the safety culture'

'Learning is such an important part of life'

'We must understand that we can change the landscape of health and safety'

'The safety industry is huge number of individual cogs that make up a bigger machine'

VALUABLE RESOURCES

The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/vn/podcast/the-interesting-health-safety-podcast/id1467771449    

Jessy Gomez LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jessy-gomes

IOSH - https://iosh.com/

ABOUT THE HOST

Colin Nottage

‘Making health and safety as important as everything else we do.’

This is the belief that Colin is passionate about and through his consultancy Influential Management Group (IMG) is able to spread into industry. Colin works at a strategic level with company owners and board members. He helps business leaders establish and achieve their health and safety ambitions.

He has developed a number of leading competency improvement programmes that are delivered across industry and his strengths are his ability to take a practical approach to problem-solving and being able to liaise at all levels within an organisation.

Colin also runs a company that vets contractors online and a network that develops and support H&S consultancies to become better businesses.

Colin chairs the Construction Dust Partnership, an industry collaboration directly involving many organisations, including the Health and Safety Executive.

He is a Post Graduate Tutor at Strathclyde University and a highly sought-after health and safety speaker and trainer. He has a Post Graduate Certificate in Safety and Risk management, an engineering degree and is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

In this special 150th edition of The Interesting Health And Safety Podcast, Colin takes time to reflect upon the incredible highlights of the last six months. As Colin discusses, even though the world has been turned upside down, there have still been moments of opportunity, and valuable lessons learned from connections made.

 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Sometimes health and safety is a case of marketing. Perfecting the message is one thing, but marketing it effectively can help it spread.
• Willpower solidifies the mindset we need in order to make positive, lasting impact. We may not always succeed on the first attempt, but we must endeavour.
• As professionals we are always learning. The best way of learning is to talk, and especially with the people in the sharp end of the business, those who recognise the real safety needs.

BEST MOMENTS

'We need to continually push new ways, new boundaries, and engage with people'

'Keep on the ball. Keep on pushing for what is right'

'Spend more time out in the workplace talking to the people who are doing the job'

 VALUABLE RESOURCES

The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/vn/podcast/the-interesting-health-safety-podcast/id1467771449   

ABOUT THE HOST

Colin Nottage

‘Making health and safety as important as everything else we do.’

This is the belief that Colin is passionate about and through his consultancy Influential Management Group (IMG) is able to spread into industry. Colin works at a strategic level with company owners and board members. He helps business leaders establish and achieve their health and safety ambitions.

He has developed a number of leading competency improvement programmes that are delivered across industry and his strengths are his ability to take a practical approach to problem-solving and being able to liaise at all levels within an organisation.

Colin also runs a company that vets contractors online and a network that develops and support H&S consultancies to become better businesses.

Colin chairs the Construction Dust Partnership, an industry collaboration directly involving many organisations, including the Health and Safety Executive.

He is a Post Graduate Tutor at Strathclyde University and a highly sought-after health and safety speaker and trainer. He has a Post Graduate Certificate in Safety and Risk management, an engineering degree and is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

Colin is joined this time by special guest, Jem Hills, an international keynote speaker, who specialises in helping companies to assess risk in shipping, and who now devotes himself to helping people to be the best versions of themselves.

Jem discusses his incredible life and career, the fascinating world of risk assessment on the seas, and the importance of visualising success, setting achievable goals, and how to perform at our peak.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The shipping industry is one that is prone to attack from outside sources. In certain zones, piracy is still very much rampant, as is the threat from terrorists. Careful risk assessments are necessary and required before any routes can be finalised.
• Jem has been on the vanguard of creating a structure and framework of how shipping risk is assessed. An instrumental role was played in standardising shipping risk and making it something quantifiable for generations to come.
• Contingency planning is essential. We can never know every variable, but we can examine each outcome and do our best to provide contingencies. These eventualities may tessellate with resulting outcomes and help to provide a rapid response.
• Life is built upon choices. If we are not happy in a certain area of our lives, then we must use our free will and change the outcome. Careers are very much built this way. We must not settle for second best. Make good choices and follow the instincts that guide us.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Let’s get the risks out on the table and then look at how we mitigate those risks’

‘Risk assessment is likelihood and consequence’

‘When something does go wrong, you need the right people already lined up’

‘Find something in life that you enjoy doing. A lot of people end up in a place they don’t enjoy'

 VALUABLE RESOURCES

The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/vn/podcast/the-interesting-health-safety-podcast/id1467771449  

Jem Hills LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jem-hills-78249511

Jem Hills - https://www.jemhills.com

ABOUT THE HOST

Colin Nottage

‘Making health and safety as important as everything else we do.’

This is the belief that Colin is passionate about and through his consultancy Influential Management Group (IMG) is able to spread into industry. Colin works at a strategic level with company owners and board members. He helps business leaders establish and achieve their health and safety ambitions.

He has developed a number of leading competency improvement programmes that are delivered across industry and his strengths are his ability to take a practical approach to problem-solving and being able to liaise at all levels within an organisation.

Colin also runs a company that vets contractors online and a network that develops and support H&S consultancies to become better businesses.

Colin chairs the Construction Dust Partnership, an industry collaboration directly involving many organisations, including the Health and Safety Executive.

He is a Post Graduate Tutor at Strathclyde University and a highly sought-after health and safety speaker and trainer. He has a Post Graduate Certificate in Safety and Risk management, an engineering degree and is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

One of the main areas of focus when new staff arrive, is the time taken to instruct them on the health and safety aspects of their role. But as Colin discusses in this week’s show, should we be challenging the need for this instruction at the outset, and how can we improve the experience?

 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• A better approach to inducting new staff, could be to simply ask them to go out into the workplace and talk to the people who work there already.
• We can gauge our own happiness with our safety measures by asking ourselves if conversations with new employees would be beneficial, productive, and welcome.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Are there better ways of inducting people in the things that are really important?’

‘If you’re comfortable and confident with letting conversations happen, then you’re in a great place to be’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/vn/podcast/the-interesting-health-safety-podcast/id1467771449  

ABOUT THE HOST

Colin Nottage

‘Making health and safety as important as everything else we do.’

This is the belief that Colin is passionate about and through his consultancy Influential Management Group (IMG) is able to spread into industry. Colin works at a strategic level with company owners and board members. He helps business leaders establish and achieve their health and safety ambitions.

He has developed a number of leading competency improvement programmes that are delivered across industry and his strengths are his ability to take a practical approach to problem-solving and being able to liaise at all levels within an organisation.

Colin also runs a company that vets contractors online and a network that develops and support H&S consultancies to become better businesses.

Colin chairs the Construction Dust Partnership, an industry collaboration directly involving many organisations, including the Health and Safety Executive.

He is a Post Graduate Tutor at Strathclyde University and a highly sought-after health and safety speaker and trainer. He has a Post Graduate Certificate in Safety and Risk management, an engineering degree and is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

This time, Colin is joined by Ron Gantt, owner and operator of Reflect Consulting Group and the vice-president of SCM Safety, providing safety and health consulting and training to a wide variety of organisations on topics ranging from safety management and leadership, system safety, human performance improvement, and regulatory compliance.

Ron discusses the importance of establishing a working environment that makes people flourish, as well as the positive benefits of drift, and how we can better align our business goals to create harmony.

 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Safety professionals must seek to define their roles in terms of what it truly means to society, and how it benefits society. If this ethos can be better communicated, then it will be more interesting to people.
• Many different pressures are put upon may different workers in differing ways. This can lead to friction and a more diverse set of goals. It’s important for management to step back and not just mediate, but facilitate, aligning goals to ensure we are running more smoothly and as a team.
• Drift is often seen as a negative thing, but we need to alter our perspective. We need to understand that people change the way things operate because they seek to improve things.
• We need to make it easier for people to do things the right way, and difficult for people to do things in the wrong way. 

BEST MOMENTS

‘We always have a conception of what’s happening in our workplace. I help them see a little bit more of what’s going on on the ground floor’

‘Improving the world is thing that a lot of companies are into, and if we can align health and safety more firmly, it’ll be more interesting’

‘We have to think of this as a living thing. Think of it as a doctor giving a prescription to a patient…'

‘If we better identify what we’re tryin to achieve, then it helps you think outside the box'

 VALUABLE RESOURCES

The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/vn/podcast/the-interesting-health-safety-podcast/id1467771449  

Ron Gantt LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-gantt-7a1b7741/

Ron Gantt at Safety Differently - https://safetydifferently.com/author/rongantt/

SCM Safety - http://www.scm-safety.com/team/ron-gantt-m-eng-csp-arm-cet/

ABOUT THE HOST

Colin Nottage

‘Making health and safety as important as everything else we do.’

This is the belief that Colin is passionate about and through his consultancy Influential Management Group (IMG) is able to spread into industry. Colin works at a strategic level with company owners and board members. He helps business leaders establish and achieve their health and safety ambitions.

He has developed a number of leading competency improvement programmes that are delivered across industry and his strengths are his ability to take a practical approach to problem-solving and being able to liaise at all levels within an organisation.

Colin also runs a company that vets contractors online and a network that develops and support H&S consultancies to become better businesses.

Colin chairs the Construction Dust Partnership, an industry collaboration directly involving many organisations, including the Health and Safety Executive.

He is a Post Graduate Tutor at Strathclyde University and a highly sought-after health and safety speaker and trainer. He has a Post Graduate Certificate in Safety and Risk management, an engineering degree and is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

Sometimes we focus far too much on the things we haven’t achieved, when we should be talking about the areas in which we’ve found success. In this episode, Colin talks about why, especially when it comes to our safety achievements, we should be taking time out to celebrate the positive effects we have.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• A success we share is a success that empowers. By lionising our achievements, we energise ourselves, and others, to do better.
• If we mark out achievement, we inspire others to push further. The rewards of success are the driving force behind further success.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I’d like you turn things on their head a little bit and really look at the things that are going well’

‘Good practice fosters more good practice'

VALUABLE RESOURCES

The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/vn/podcast/the-interesting-health-safety-podcast/id1467771449 

ABOUT THE HOST

Colin Nottage

‘Making health and safety as important as everything else we do.’

This is the belief that Colin is passionate about and through his consultancy Influential Management Group (IMG) is able to spread into industry. Colin works at a strategic level with company owners and board members. He helps business leaders establish and achieve their health and safety ambitions.

He has developed a number of leading competency improvement programmes that are delivered across industry and his strengths are his ability to take a practical approach to problem-solving and being able to liaise at all levels within an organisation.

Colin also runs a company that vets contractors online and a network that develops and support H&S consultancies to become better businesses.

Colin chairs the Construction Dust Partnership, an industry collaboration directly involving many organisations, including the Health and Safety Executive.

He is a Post Graduate Tutor at Strathclyde University and a highly sought-after health and safety speaker and trainer. He has a Post Graduate Certificate in Safety and Risk management, an engineering degree and is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

After being recently inspired by a volume of philosophy, Colin reflects upon the importance of value over growth, and of quality over quantity, and why we should always base every decision upon ensuring we provide the most value.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Solving your clients’ problems, and making sure we add value at every opportunity, should be the number one focus at all times. It’s the same in health and safety.
• Spend more and more time out in the business, talking to the people who make your business work, and better understanding how we can put the right measures in place.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It’s about offering the best service you possibly can to your clients’

‘Being better is actually better than being bigger!’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/vn/podcast/the-interesting-health-safety-podcast/id1467771449 

ABOUT THE HOST

Colin Nottage

‘Making health and safety as important as everything else we do.’

This is the belief that Colin is passionate about and through his consultancy Influential Management Group (IMG) is able to spread into industry. Colin works at a strategic level with company owners and board members. He helps business leaders establish and achieve their health and safety ambitions.

He has developed a number of leading competency improvement programmes that are delivered across industry and his strengths are his ability to take a practical approach to problem-solving and being able to liaise at all levels within an organisation.

Colin also runs a company that vets contractors online and a network that develops and support H&S consultancies to become better businesses.

Colin chairs the Construction Dust Partnership, an industry collaboration directly involving many organisations, including the Health and Safety Executive.

He is a Post Graduate Tutor at Strathclyde University and a highly sought-after health and safety speaker and trainer. He has a Post Graduate Certificate in Safety and Risk management, an engineering degree and is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

With much controversy in today’s safety world regarding the many systems being implemented in order to change the culture of safety, Colin is joined by Dominic Cooper for a wide-ranging, insightful conversation about why the culture of safety needs to change, the principles behind some of safety’s most lauded systems, how the psychology of safety affects the sector, and why any shifts in thinking require a set of change management processes to ensure that any significant change initiatives are rolled-out in a controlled and systematic manner.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• In the pioneering days of safety, initiatives were based around conversations and looking at things from the worker’s perspectives. In many regards, these concerns are still at the heart of any system.
• Treating people as equals, and nurturing a partnership with safety leaders must be at the bedrock of any safety conversation in a company. Encourage conversation, dialogue and collaboration.
• The fundamental safety issue is that the way in which companies manage safety doesn't entirely fit into any safety system’s mould. Many in business see their people as the problem.
• Mental health issues are increasingly being cast into the remit of safety officers, which is fundamentally wrong. Safety professionals have an entirely different skill-set, and no specialist training in such a sensitive area.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Behavioural safety worked! If you did it properly, it worked! And it’s still the same today’

’Let’s not have a culture of fear. Let’s treat people as human beings’

‘It’s not about having any controls. It’s about having the right ones’

’They say people are the solution and traditional safety says people are the problem, which I disagree with'

 VALUABLE RESOURCES

The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/vn/podcast/the-interesting-health-safety-podcast/id1467771449  

B-Safe - http://www.behavioural-safety.com

ABOUT THE HOST

Colin Nottage

‘Making health and safety as important as everything else we do.’

This is the belief that Colin is passionate about and through his consultancy Influential Management Group (IMG) is able to spread into industry. Colin works at a strategic level with company owners and board members. He helps business leaders establish and achieve their health and safety ambitions.

He has developed a number of leading competency improvement programmes that are delivered across industry and his strengths are his ability to take a practical approach to problem-solving and being able to liaise at all levels within an organisation.

Colin also runs a company that vets contractors online and a network that develops and support H&S consultancies to become better businesses.

Colin chairs the Construction Dust Partnership, an industry collaboration directly involving many organisations, including the Health and Safety Executive.

He is a Post Graduate Tutor at Strathclyde University and a highly sought-after health and safety speaker and trainer. He has a Post Graduate Certificate in Safety and Risk management, an engineering degree and is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

Today’s episode is a decidedly showbiz affair, as Colin talks to Ruth Denyer, the group head of health, safety and insurance risk management at ITV, and soon to take up the safety mantle at Netflix, about the many challenges faced in the creative industries, and how diversity and artistry have an effect upon the decisions made in the entertainment sector when it comes to safety.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The main challenge of safety in the arts, is that ideas take form in all sorts of (occasionally) wild ways. Visions require experimentation and consideration. Safety’s role in this is to find a safe way to express these visions.
• We cannot always communicate our concerns with raw data. Sometimes we need to find more creative ways of expressing the hazards we face. It’s about tailoring the information to the person.
• Safety teams must be seen not as policers, but as enablers. We are there to help creativity flourish in a safe environment, and to help the business to be successful as a result.
• It’s important for people to own the risks they take during any activity. This may manifest itself in creative ambition or making a profit, but whatever success looks like to you, consider the risks that you are willing to take, and own those risks.

BEST MOMENTS

‘What I’m passionate about is always learning’

‘We’re trying to make creative visions happen, and give people the tools to think about things themselves’

‘We need to take away the jargon and talk in a way that’s concise, clear, to the point, and really engages with people’

‘Let’s not be someone who goes and checks the controls are in place. Let’s help design and think about, and manage that risk at the very early stages'

 VALUABLE RESOURCES

The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/vn/podcast/the-interesting-health-safety-podcast/id1467771449  

Ruth Denyer LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-denyer-82641130/?originalSubdomain=uk

ABOUT THE HOST

Colin Nottage

‘Making health and safety as important as everything else we do.’

This is the belief that Colin is passionate about and through his consultancy Influential Management Group (IMG) is able to spread into industry. Colin works at a strategic level with company owners and board members. He helps business leaders establish and achieve their health and safety ambitions.

He has developed a number of leading competency improvement programmes that are delivered across industry and his strengths are his ability to take a practical approach to problem-solving and being able to liaise at all levels within an organisation.

Colin also runs a company that vets contractors online and a network that develops and support H&S consultancies to become better businesses.

Colin chairs the Construction Dust Partnership, an industry collaboration directly involving many organisations, including the Health and Safety Executive.

He is a Post Graduate Tutor at Strathclyde University and a highly sought-after health and safety speaker and trainer. He has a Post Graduate Certificate in Safety and Risk management, an engineering degree and is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

After recent developments in the news, Colin discusses the need for greater stringency when it comes to fire safety and evaluation in this critical area of every business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• In a recent news story, a fire assessment officer was prosecuted for not having the correct qualifications, despite the fact that he had served as a fireman for many years. 
• Competent, qualified professionals are a crucial requirement for your business. Don’t take on the responsibility unless you are fully qualified and accredited. The consequences can be disastrous.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Fire safety is such a critical aspect of your business and premises’

‘Don’t treat fire safety lightly'

 VALUABLE RESOURCES

The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/vn/podcast/the-interesting-health-safety-podcast/id1467771449  

ABOUT THE HOST

Colin Nottage

‘Making health and safety as important as everything else we do.’

This is the belief that Colin is passionate about and through his consultancy Influential Management Group (IMG) is able to spread into industry. Colin works at a strategic level with company owners and board members. He helps business leaders establish and achieve their health and safety ambitions.

He has developed a number of leading competency improvement programmes that are delivered across industry and his strengths are his ability to take a practical approach to problem-solving and being able to liaise at all levels within an organisation.

Colin also runs a company that vets contractors online and a network that develops and support H&S consultancies to become better businesses.

Colin chairs the Construction Dust Partnership, an industry collaboration directly involving many organisations, including the Health and Safety Executive.

He is a Post Graduate Tutor at Strathclyde University and a highly sought-after health and safety speaker and trainer. He has a Post Graduate Certificate in Safety and Risk management, an engineering degree and is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).