Connect Issue 5
4 August 2008
Welcome to the fifth issue of Connect
The holiday season is now well and truly in full swing, and
parents are dragging their children around zoos, museums and theme
parks in an attempt to give their loved ones a little education and
entertainment (and, of course, to lure them from their TVs and Wii
consoles). So spare a thought for IOSH member Andrew Böber, who’s
the health and safety manager for London Zoo. Connect
catches up with Andrew in our Spotlight feature, where
troublesome little monkeys are an occupational hazard.
Still on the topic of children, there’s an interesting
discussion thread on our
member forum about what IOSH is doing for the health and safety
practitioners of tomorrow and, in particular, the suggestion of a
youth branch network. While we don't have a formal youth network in
the pipeline, there are several IOSH initiatives already out there
aimed at educating schoolchildren and teenagers on workplace
safety, from the Edinburgh Branch’s support of the Risk Factory to the
Workplace Hazard Awareness
Course. Is your branch or group thinking about getting involved
in awareness training for local children? If so, drop us a line.
Not many people share their workplace with Harrier Jets. Mike
Slyne from RAF Wittering works with bomb disposal teams and
soldiers armed with machine guns on a daily basis – he's also quite
handy when it comes to drain covers. Find out more in
our Dangerously Safe
slot.
The holiday season also means ‘silly season’ and with it comes
daft health and safety stories splashed over the newspapers. One
tells how a Scottish council has banned dog obedience classes at a
town hall over health and safety fears or, more accurately, worries
over being sued due to someone slipping on dog mess. Read Ray
Hurst’s comments about this and other topics in this issue’s
Quote Me.
Happy reading, and if you have something interesting to say, or
want to comment on anything you see in Connect, please
contact me.
Shaun Gibbons
e-Editor
Dangerously safe: planes, drains and automobiles
In the second of our ‘Dangerously safe’ features, we
catch up with one of the health and safety professionals who
operate in more challenging environments and
circumstances.
As soon as you set foot on the RAF Wittering base you see that
safety is everywhere. But on a military site, things are different
– and you’re sharply reminded of this when faced with two service
personnel guarding the entrance armed with rifles. Connect
talks to Mike Slyne, the Safety, Health and Environment Adviser for
approximately 2,000 service personnel, their families and Ministry
of Defence civil servants.
The type of environment Mike works in is a long way from that of
a normal business. You could say that he manages the health and
safety of a small town, with the addition of a few Harrier jets
thrown into the equation!
Mike began working life as an industrial engineer in 1968. After
going on a safety representative training course, he soon started
using the technique of job safety analysis, and this saw the start
of his career in health and safety. In 2003 Mike took on his
position at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire.
Communication is an extremely important part of Mike’s role as
he works in partnership with others to assist the station in its
management of health, safety and environment. He is in contact
every day with the various specialists at Wittering, from transport
through to ejector seats. This can make for a very diverse job.
Mike said:
“One day you could be working with bomb
disposal specialists, and the next you could be dealing with an
ill-fitting drain cover… or even a problem in the station’s bowling
alley.”
From a health, safety and environmental protection point of
view, the MoD takes a very proactive approach and has a training
organisation to make sure station personnel are competent to carry
out their duties. An annual refresher brief takes place on station,
as well as one-day inductions on health, safety, fire and flight
for anyone new to the site.
“These training sessions are extremely
important for awakening awareness in people,” Mike explained. “Many
may be new to the station but they have far more knowledge and
experience of the hazards, risks and controls associated with their
duties than I do.”
FOD (foreign object damage) costs the MoD millions of pounds a
year. People going into aircraft manoeuvring areas have to
self-certify that their car tyres are free from debris – if one
small stone embedded in the tyre ended up on the runway it could
cause a major accident to a plane resulting in injury or even death
to aircrew. Sticking to strict tool control is also fundamental to
all those who work on or near the aircraft. The base uses a system
to make sure that tools are counted out and back in.
Part of Mike’s job involves dealing with environmental issues.
Even in his office, Mike is often forced to raise his voice to make
himself heard. But having to compete with the roaring engines of a
Harrier jet is natural to him now, as it probably is with the
residents beneath the flight paths they use.
Mike said:
“Unfortunately nothing can be done about the
jets – they make noise! The flight circuits around the airfield are
designed to cause the least impact on people. We monitor these
circuits but other than that we can’t really do anything else as
the activity is a crucial part of training.”
In 1996, the MoD launched GEMS, a scheme that recognises and
rewards ideas which are put into practice. The scheme encourages
all personnel, ex-employees and contractors to put forward ideas
for improving procedures. As a result of GEMS, RAF Wittering has
introduced four major method improvements to manual handling tasks
in the past two years, following ideas from staff. There
are 30 trainers as well as manual handling specialists on
station.
Slips, trips and falls are the most common cause of
accidents.
“Sometimes it can be hard trying to get
people to understand what the risks are here on the station,” Mike
said. “They are eventually going to be deployed to places such as
Afghanistan where they will be dodging bullets, so what’s a hole in
the road in comparison to that?”
This is why officers, commanding flight and line managers try to
make sure that everyone knows about health and safety, because
although a trip may be minor in comparison to being in a war zone,
getting an injury could potentially put a member of the service out
of action. With this in mind, the Wittering team works hard to
maintain a strong safety culture among the 2,000 people stationed
at the base.
Mike gets involved in pre-deployment training for the airmen.
Again, communication has a key role as Mike needs to be kept in the
loop about everything. The safety of these practices is taken very
seriously. For example, before tents are pitched, CAT scans are
done on the area to avoid the risk of going through a cable.
Nothing is done by half measure in the MoD, Mike explains.
“Their military approach encompasses safety,
health and environment by the nature of what they are, and what
they do. It’s a real privilege to work at and be associated with
RAF Wittering, where every day is a learning day.”
Factfile:
- RAF Wittering dates back to 1916 and is one of the oldest air
bases in the country
- The station is home to 2,050 Royal Air Force and Royal Navy
military personnel and Ministry of Defence civilians. Up to 100
sub-contractors work on the base on an average day
- The base includes the Joint Force Harrier jet as well as a bomb
disposal squadron
Spotlight: never work with children and animals
Spare a thought for Andrew Böber, Occupational Safety
and Health Manager for the ZSL London Zoo, who is dealing with the
height of the school holiday season and a few more little monkeys
than he’d bargained for. Connect went to meet him…
Andrew is running a little late. An irate mother has been on the
telephone claiming that her daughter wasn’t feeling well after a
visit to the zoo. Sitting outside the zoo’s café with a cup of
strong coffee, Andrew is fairly philosophical about the safety
culture we have.
“People automatically have to find blame,” he
shrugs. “Companies and councils are reacting to the fear of
litigation. It’s all about risk assessments and RIDDOR reports.
“Here, say, a child has an accident in one of
the play areas. There was no negligence, by anyone, and the parents
are agreeable. It’s only when they get home do they start to
realise that, hey, I’m going to need time off work to look after my
child, who is going to pay me for that? It’s then that the issue of
financial compensation gets raised. It’s at that point when you
start to think that the parents will try and find blame.”
Andrew gives me a tour of the farm animal enclosure. It’s here
where children are encouraged to touch and interact with the
animals. Yet despite all the hand-cleaning kits provided, as well
as signs, some fail to wash their hands afterwards – something,
says Andrew, that’s down to education.
“We have a large number of urban folk who
come here, mostly on school trips. They’ve never really had the
experience and knowledge of animals, apart from pets. These folk
aren’t aware of the consequences of not washing your hands after
handling animals.”
Andrew, on the other hand, is more than aware after growing up
in a farming community.
“It’s just a question of education, and I
hope that by making the whole issue of animals and hygiene fun,
then they’ll pick up on that.”
As we were talking, a little girl coming out of the gates of the
enclosure ran towards us and tripped. After a couple of seconds of
‘will she/won’t she cry’, the girl dusted herself down and carried
on.
“As un-exciting as this might sound, for a 36
acre site, with a lot of open ground, it’s trips, slips and falls
that are on the top of my list here!” smiles Andrew.
As well as the visitors to keep an eye on, Andrew also has the
zoo’s employees, in particular, the keepers.
“We’ve keepers who work with very dangerous
animals, and do so on a daily basis. Some of the accidents
involving keepers are down to behavioural attitudes,” he says.
“Others, it’s simply silly accidents."
Andrew points to the case of snake handlers.
“They pride themselves on having the skills
necessary to handle a snake. And usually snake sticks are used to
take control of the snake’s head, which takes a lot of skill and
experience. But in certain circumstances the use of a stick is not
considered as safe as placing a snake in a clear Perspex tube,
which is a lot easier. The problem we had, from a safety point of
view, is that the handlers used to almost always prefer to use the
stick because it reflected their skills as a handler.”
The snake handlers are the ones at increased risk, due to the
nature of the job. That’s why the zoo holds one of the biggest
stocks of antivenin outside Australia, costing several thousand
pounds a year. The antivenin is actually bought from Australia, and
only has a shelf-life of a year, so the stock has to be replenished
at least every 12 months.
We met up with the chief snake keeper ‘backstage’ where some of
the more deadly snakes are kept for conservation purposes, and
asked him if he’s had any close shaves. “My hands are covered in
bites,” he shows us, “but nothing serious.” His last scrape was
with a Komodo Dragon which left him with a nasty cut on the
hand.
As you’d expect, there are strict protocols in the event of
someone being bitten by a poisonous snake.
“In some cases, you’ll have less than three
minutes to get the antivenin administered, so we have very rigorous
guidelines and procedures in place,” said Andrew.
And it’s not just poisonous snakes to look out for. London Zoo
underwent an alert some time ago after the Metropolitan Police had
warned the zoo about a man with psychological problems who had
escaped the secure ward of a hospital.
“One of the reasons he was put into a secure
ward in the first place, was because of his desire to get into the
lion enclosure over a decade ago so we had to instigate high-alerts
for safety.”
As well as the zoo, Andrew is also the Occupational Safety and
Health Manager for the Zoological Society of London, which houses
labs and hospitals on site for research staff. In fact, Andrew is
also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and travels
extensively.
“It’s not conventional and linear at the ZSL. I’m not
necessarily dealing with just one thing, but I guess that’s the
reason why I love my job so much.”
Factfile:
- London Zoo opened in 1828
- Last year, the zoo had 1.1 million visitors
- ZSL employs more than 600 people
- There are around 13,000 animals and 650 species housed at the
zoo
Links:
60 second interview
Steve Martin, Health and Safety Officer for Formula 1 team
Force India, talks to Connect.
What’s the hot issue in your sector right
now?
Fire safety.
What’s the most challenging problem you’ve had to
overcome?
Working at heights.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever had about
working in health and safety?
Don’t try and bite off more than you can chew.
What advice would you give to someone starting their
career in health and safety?
Keep focused.
If you could ban the use of one piece of jargon or
cliche, what would it be?
‘Don’t worry, it’ll be all right’.
If you weren’t
a health and safety practitioner what would you
be?
Quality assurance manager.
What do you think about the growing trend of wrapping
kids up in cotton wool?
It's absolutely ridiculous – children need to experience
life.
Do you want to be considered for a 60 Second
Interview? Contact the e-Editor.
Shaun Gibbons
e-Editor
Quote me
IOSH gets its message across...
Personnel Today
Following a recent visit to IOSH, East Midlands
MEP Chris Heaton-Harris told Personnel
Today about IOSH’s ‘Putting young workers first’
campaign.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that our
young people are adequately prepared for starting work. With 64
under-19s killed in the workplace in the last decade and over
15,000 suffering major injuries, this is clearly a matter that
requires prompt attention.”
Edinburgh Evening News
IOSH President Ray Hurst hit back at the decision by Midlothian
Council to ban dog obedience classes from town halls, due to health
and safety reasons.
"Health and safety is not about banning poor
pooches from learning how to behave properly in public.”
Health Business
Ray Hurst championed sensible risk in a feature he wrote for
Health Business magazine.
“Risk assessment isn’t red tape rubbish. It’s
a practical necessity to keep your hospital, clinic or other
premises a safe and healthy place for your most valuable asset –
your people!
“Done properly, a risk assessment is a
critical tool for any organisation to understand the hazards its
people face, and how to minimise the risk of them being hurt. So
it’s surely something that’s worth spending a good amount of time
on.”
Norwich Union Risk Services Newsletter
Ray Hurst issued a warning for all businesses thinking about
cutting back on health and safety during the current economic
struggles, saying that doing so could have a nasty sting in the
tail.
“Those who are tempted to skimp on safety
should realise that we now have the new Corporate Manslaughter and
Corporate Homicide Act, which may bring with it hefty fines for
companies – possibly up to 10 per cent of their global turnover –
combined with the prospect of orders requiring publication of
conviction and remedial orders.
“I’d urge all organisations to ensure that
health and safety is very close to the top of their agenda even
during an economic slowdown.”
Education Business
IOSH wrote an article for Education Business recently,
pointing out that health and safety isn’t about getting rid of risk
entirely – it’s about recognising it.
“One of the key points of health and safety
awareness is shared responsibility – not only looking after
yourself, but those around you. This is a lesson worth remembering
long after leaving the classroom.
“Health and safety awareness should help you
respond the right way to hazards – not retreat into a cotton wool
cave.”
Association of Colleges
Ray Hurst recently spoke at the Association of Colleges
conference on ‘Conkers, colleges and competence’.
“We’re continuing to respond to negative
media stories about ‘elf and safety’ banning everything from
conkers to hanging baskets. We ask our members to be proactive too
and get our positive message across whenever possible.”