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22 March 2011 - NR 15/11

Hairdresser’s iPhone app is cut above

A Manchester businessman has been praised for his innovation in hairdressing health and safety by two of the biggest bodies in the sector.

Anthony Tetlow, from Stockport, was awarded the first Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Innovation in Safety – Small Business Award for his hairdressing health and safety app produced for the iPhone, iPad and iTouch market.

Anthony, a chartered member of IOSH and managing director of Safety Smart Ltd, said: “I’m extremely proud to receive this award from IOSH and the HSE - it’s beyond our wildest expectations.

“We are a small business that wanted to take a different direction with health and safety. A considerable amount of work has gone into the development of our health and safety app and we have had some fantastic feedback from hair salons across the UK which have been using it.

“As far as I am aware it’s the world’s first industry-specific health and safety app available on the market. And, we are hoping to roll out different versions of the app for other industry sectors.”

The Safety Smart Salon app was launched last year and has been designed to simplify the health and safety issues that surround hairdressing. Almost 750 people have downloaded the app, which covers areas such as: how to write a health and safety policy, fire risk assessments, COSHH (control of substances hazardous to health) assessments, accident reporting and typical hazards that can be found in a salon environment.

As an experienced health and safety consultant, Anthony was approached by the management at the Colour Room salon in Stockport, Cheshire, to help them develop a better safety culture.

Claire Smith, salon manager said: “We were finding it difficult to balance the demands of running a busy salon and providing accurate health and safety information to our employees.

“The health and safety of our employees is vital to the work we do in the salon and there are so many occupational health risks attached to being a hairdresser. When we approached Safety Smart for a solution to our problems, they came up with this fantastic android app that hairdressers from across the UK can benefit from.

“I can now guarantee that everyone within my salon has access to relevant up-to-date health and safety information. And I have managed to save money whilst making my workplace more efficient and protected.”

Alongside picking up the joint IOSH and HSE Innovation in Safety – Small Business Award at the IOSH 2011 conference, Anthony was awarded with a £1,000 cheque.

IOSH President Steve Granger said: “We were delighted to see such a worthy winner of the award. The app has actually been designed with a busy salon in mind and provided them with a solution for their health and safety needs.”

- Ends -

Notes for editors:

IOSH is the Chartered body for health and safety professionals. With more than 40,000 members in 85 countries, we’re the world’s biggest professional health and safety organisation.

We set standards, and support, develop and connect our members with resources, guidance, events and training. We’re the voice of the profession, and campaign on issues that affect millions of working people.

IOSH was founded in 1945 and is a registered charity with international NGO status.