Spotlight: in safety we Trust
The National Trust cares for more than 350 buildings and
gardens, over 245,000 hectares of countryside, plus more than 1,100
kilometres of coastline. With more than 3.5 million members, it’s
the largest charity membership organisation in the country.
Connect spoke to Mark Daniels, Head of Health and Safety,
on how the Trust looks after historic buildings and countryside
throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland while keeping them
safe…
“It’s difficult trying to find the right
balance between conservation, access and safety. People visit these
places because they’re special and if you impose a modern safety
environment with signage and fences everywhere then it takes away
the whole purpose of conserving them and detracts from
visitors' enjoyment – yet doing nothing isn’t an
option either.
“There aren’t necessarily any simple
solutions – each site is different and we have to find the best
options for that particular place.”
Around 15 million visitors come to National Trust properties
every year. When they enter any of the sites they’re given
information on the significant risks they’re likely to encounter,
for example uneven ground or falls from height.
“Visitors have to remember that they're
stepping onto an historical site, and while we do all we can to
prevent accidents they have to exercise some personal
responsibility and supervise their children properly.”
The Trust has over 5,000 full-time employees and 52,000
volunteers who offer their time in all sorts of ways – from room
stewards in stately houses to carrying out conservation at
countryside properties to taking part in working holidays. The
Trust’s approach is to provide volunteers with the same safety
standards as paid staff.
As well as its stately homes and historic sites, the National
Trust also looks after stretches of coast and countryside,
including the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumberland.
“A particular challenge we face is how we go
about ensuring the safety of the people who work there. They live
on the island for most of the year and easy access to the mainland
isn’t always available.
“The work they do can involve some risks –
from use of small boats, working in bad weather, to counting seals
and being dive-bombed by Arctic Terns in the breeding season!
“But with any of our properties or sites, you
have to provide solutions that are reasonable, appropriate and cost
effective. Sometimes if you do everything by the book it’s not
going to work and health and safety can become discredited in some
way.”
In 2008, the press accused the National Trust of health and
safety paranoia after a number of old trees were cut down following
advice from experts. Mark said:
“This is an extremely sensitive area for the
Trust because we’ve had two tragic incidents in recent years in
which children were killed by a falling branch or tree in bad
weather, so we have assisted the authorities in their
investigations and reviewed our procedures.
“We’ve had procedures in place for tree
safety management for more than 20 years and it’s something we’ve
always taken seriously. But a balanced approach has to be taken
given that we own around six million trees. Our decisions to fell
trees are taken from in-house surveys, which are often backed up by
external advice, but we always try to avoid unnecessary felling or
pruning.”
The National Trust’s approach to tree safety management is based
on zoning areas into five different levels of usage. The frequency
and regime of inspection is dictated by the extent and type of
public access. Most other landowning organisations take a similar
line.
“But even with this approach, trees are
living things and can still fail unpredictably – unfortunately it’s
something that can’t always be avoided unless we adopt precautions
that are disproportionate to the overall level of risk.”
Sir Simon Jenkins, Chairman of the National Trust, said in 2008
that the organisation needed “more risk, less health and safety”.
Mark comments:
“Our approach has always been to balance
safety with other principles, such as not affecting people’s sense
of freedom and adventure or restricting access. It’s perfectly
reasonable that people should be exposed to a certain amount of
risk and they shouldn’t be cocooned in a countryside
environment.”
Mark literally fell into health and safety after being on the
wrong side of an accident in his days in the Merchant Navy.
“Being flown back to the UK with a broken
leg, after a loading operation didn’t go to plan, probably sowed
the seed for my interest in health and safety.
“I’ve been in health and safety since 1984
and I’ve never looked back. Since working for the Trust the variety
of issues I’ve dealt with has been unparalleled – there’s always
such a range and complexity of problems, and it’s a real privilege
to have access to unique historic sites.”
Factfile:
- Mark has been a member of IOSH for almost 20 years and is on
the Rural Industries Group committee
- The National Trust was founded in 1895 by three Victorian
philanthropists – Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Canon
Hardwicke Rawnsley
- Prince Charles became President of the National Trust in
2003
Link:
The National Trust
Quote me
IOSH gets its message across…
BBC news online
IOSH president Nattasha Freeman gave her reaction to the latest
HSE figures which show that the number of people killed at work
last year had fallen to a record low. She told the BBC:
“Health and safety isn't just mindless
bureaucracy, brought in to make life difficult or prevent us
enjoying our lives. It’s about preventing true tragedy that
destroys lives.”
Birmingham Post
Nattasha also spoke to the Birmingham Post about the
HSE’s figures. She said:
“Health and safety isn't about five-page
guides for using Pritt Sticks, or requiring goggles when putting up
Blu-Tack.
“Health and safety professionals’ efforts are
focused on preventing the toll of death and serious injury at work,
at stopping the things that cause the loss of life reported in
these statistics.”
Hull Daily Mail
New figures from the HSE show that men are twice more
likely to be hurt in the workplace than women. As part of National
Men’s Health Week, IOSH president Nattasha Freeman urged men to
take more care. She said:
“The statistics are quite stark and show men
really do need to think more carefully about their health and
safety at work.
“It’s important that male workers, who are
clearly at significant risk in the workplace, listen to and act on
health and safety advice they are given. Fooling around or taking a
short cut might seem clever at the time, but it will eventually
catch you out, quite possibly with tragic results.”
Burton Daily Mail
IOSH immediate past president Ray Hurst hit back at accusations
that this year’s Overseal gala parade in Derbyshire was cancelled
due to ‘health and safety red tape’. Ray told the Burton Daily
Mail:
“It’s yet another case of ‘if in doubt, blame
health and safety.’ This is lazy, unfair but, sadly, not uncommon.
Health and safety is there to assess risk and help keep people safe
– not to stop things from happening.”
Leicester Mercury
IOSH president elect John Holden responded to a number of reader
letters in the Leicester Mercury about whether the city’s
Bradgate Park is safe for children to play in. He said:
“Health and safety isn’t about bureaucracy
but about keeping people safe, enabling them to enjoy life, not
hide away from it.
“Children shouldn’t be wrapped up in cotton
wool but be allowed to encounter low level danger and learn to take
risks to equip them for life. Common sense is required, as well as
an assessment of risks and sound decisions on what’s needed to
allow an activity to take place – safely.”
Workplace Law Network
Every year in the UK, 7,000 people contract asthma that’s either
caused by work or made worse by it. IOSH president Nattasha Freeman
told Workplace Law Network of the need for employers to do
more to protect workers. She said:
“Employers have a legal duty to make sure
they prevent their workers from being exposed to substances that
can harm health. Where they can’t do this, then they should provide
personal protective equipment.
“Respiratory diseases kill one in five people
in the UK, and ruin many more lives. We need to do more to prevent
people developing asthma and other respiratory diseases. Health and
safety professionals can help employers ensure their workforce
doesn’t develop these unpleasant diseases.”
HR Review
UK employers have been told to take steps to prevent a stress
epidemic. IOSH president Nattasha Freeman explained that workers
need help to deal with the demands of their job, particularly in
the current economic downturn. She added that work-related stress
could leave people out of employment for long periods of time. She
told HR Review:
“Being out of work isn't good for your
health, so we need to encourage employers to do more to prevent
stress from striking in the first place.”