The committee

Graham Munford
Chair

Graham was the Forestry Commission Safety Health and Environment Officer England. Graham attends HSE AIAC Arboriculture and Forestry Advisory project group committee meetings.

Graham's areas of expertise include:

• 41 years in forest industry 20 of which in safety
• specialising in advice, audit, and accident investigation
• mainstream activities: timber harvesting, establishment and tending of forest crops, visitor safety
• also involved with building maintenance, civil and mechanical engineering
• particular interests: development of management systems that are practical to implement in a high risk but structurally and geographically fragmented industry, firearm noise, conflict management
• other affiliations: corporate member Institute of Chartered Foresters

David Leavesley

Health and Safety Consultant NFU mutual

David attends HSE AIAC Training and Education project group committee meetings.

 HSE AIAC Transport Project Group

Agricultural Engineering apprenticeship

Formally with CWS Farms Group (now farmcare) where responsible for health, safety and quality across 40 estates

Expertise; practical health and safety management on farms, food safety for primary production, design and install health and safety management systems (inc. policies, risk assessments, safe systems of work etc.), training

David Knowles
Networking Champion 

David has an agricultural policy research background and formerly worked as an HSE agricultural inspector and also as health and safety officer with MAFF.

Currently Health and Safety Manager for the 10 ADAS Farm Units  ADAS, David also acts as “competent person” for a number of traditional estates nationwide. David attends the main HSE AIAC committee meetings and the HSE AIAC Gathering Intelligence project group committee meetings.

David's areas of expertise include:

• practical health and safety management on farms
• advice on safe shooting (game and clay), fishing, fish farming, riding establishments, sawmills and woodworking, visitor management, maintenance of historic properties.
• management training and advice
• research in rural sector
• expert witness work for personal injury claims
  

Alastair Mitchell
HM Inspector of Health and Safety
Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

• BSc Agriculture and Food Marketing
• Worked in the agricultural supply trade prior to joining HSE’s Agricultural Inspectorate in 1991
• Gained considerable operational experience as an HSE Inspector within the agricultural, woodworking and construction industries.  Experience of investigating serious and fatal accidents, serving enforcement notices, conducting prosecution cases, carrying out inspections, and giving evidence at coroner’s inquests.
• 2003/04 HSE secondee to the Ethical Trading Initiative’s Temporary Labour Working Group.   Work included producing guidance for labour providers/users, health & safety audits of labour users and other work leading to the creation of the Gangmaster Licensing Authority.
• From May 2004 policy work within HSE’s Operational Strategy Division - Agriculture and Food sector.   Currently within the agricultural safety team with responsibility for agricultural transport, tractors and harvest machinery.
• HSE representative on European ADCO Machinery Task Force

Nigel Davy

Nigel is an independent health and safety consultant, Chairman of the Food Industry Safety and Health Network (FISHnet), attends the HSE AIAC Transport project groupc ommittee meetings , and is Workshops Coordinator for the East Anglia Branch.

Nigel’s early experience in health and safety was as a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Agricultural Inspector, followed by 12 years as a group health and safety adviser in the food and agricultural industry.

Nigel now operates as a consultant, with clients predominantly in the food, agriculture and transport sector.

Nigel’s areas of expertise include:

• workplace transport
• auditing
• bespoke training
• safety management systems risk assessment and accident.

Alan Plom

Events Champion

Alan Plom is Training Organiser for Bedfordshire Rural Training Group. and also an independent health and safety consultant.He was previously Head of Safety Section in HSE's Agriculture & Food Sector where he lead nationally on safety issues in agriculture and the land-based industries, including:

• farming
• forestry
• arboriculture
• amenity/landscaping and
• aquaculture

He is also an active Member of the Institution of Agricultural Engineers, serving on their national Council and Branch Committee.

John G McNamara

Ireland Correspondent/Web Champion

John is National Health and Safety Officer with Teagasc, the state Research, Education and Training and Advisory Authority for Agriculture and Food in Ireland.

John’s areas of Expertise include:

• holds a Masters Degree in Agricultural Science and a university Diploma in Safety , Health and Welfare at Work
• has 31 years experience  in Agricultural Education, Adult Education, Specialist Advice, Research and Management, particularly related to OHS.
• Is a current member of the statutory advisory committee for the agriculture sector to the Health and Safety Authority in Ireland. 
• Current Research projects include: management of occupational health and safety by self employed farmers; occupational health of farmers and livestock safety.
• Other affiliations: associate member of National Institute of Farm Safety (USA).

Philip Canning

Consultations Champion

ADAS – Senior Consultant - environmental consultancy, rural development services and policy advice

Philip has a practical agricultural background and is experienced in livestock handling including:

• pigs, cattle and poultry
• machinery use with a wide range of crops.

Phil is the group's consultations champion and attends HSE AIAC Livestock project group committee meetings.

Phillip’s areas of expertise include:

• health and safety policy preparation
• risk assessment
• training
• managing projects
• emergency measures (e.g. foot and mouth, avian influenza control and prevention).

Peter Wade

British Waterways 38 years 

Joined RIG Group  June 2010

• Number of roles within British waterways including carpenter, supervisor, engineer and manager on large commercial waterways in the North of England, specialised in public safety for 10 years.

• Experience in a number of areas of civil engineering including piling, dredging, lock and bridge design, construction and maintenance and other related civil engineering topics. 

• Current role also encompasses Public safety, DDA, Events safety & Volunteer management.
  
• In 2005 became Chair of the national Water Safety Forum Information Group, the group have worked to highlight the need for better data to allow analysis to drive prevention activities and for the development of the Water accident incident database (WAID) Also represent British Waterways on the Inland Waters group of the forum and Visitor Safety in the Countryside Group

Kevin Bywater

Vice Chair / Training and Education

Health & Safety Manager of Shropshire Group (UK) Farms

Work role covers a vast area across East Anglia , and involves:

• Green House operation
• Planting
• Harvesting
• Processing
• Dispatch work
• Management of Migrant Workers

works on a European project on Combine Safety

Role in the Shropshire Group is to implement, complete and manage audits across all areas, including factories, Spain , CZ Republic.

Has worked closely with the HSE in training new inspectors on agricultural machinery.

He has presented to IOSH a session on the Management of Migrant Workers from a front line Safety Managers perspective.

Member of the Institution of Agricultural Engineers

Been involved with LEAF for the annual National Farm Sundays