IOSH president's diary

Goodbyee! Goodbyee! (part 3 – the finale)

IOSH president — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:00:00 +0000

So what now?

Well for me it is time to start thinking about what I do next. Do I go back into full time employment, do a bit of consultancy or continue with the retirement? I hope the coming year as Immediate Past President will afford me some opportunities to visit those four branches I never got to visit during the last year. It has been a whirlwind of things and events, things that 30 (or even 5) years ago I would not have thought possible. I have enjoyed the experience immensely and in particular the privilege of meeting so many members at many diverse events across not just the UK but around the rest of the globe.

Is there anything I won’t miss? Well, if I’m honest, it’ll be nice not to wake up at 2 am in a hotel room and wonder “where the heck am I?” or think “where am I supposed to be tomorrow?” In the words of an old Frank Sinatra song “It’s nice to go travelling, but so much nicer, yes it’s so much nicer to come home.”

I hope that I have served you well (but only time and history will tell) and represented IOSH and ultimately you to the best of my ability. I’ve not achieved all that I set out to do 12 months ago but my main aim was to try and dispel the dafter stories that crop up about OH&S and raise the positive profile of the profession and Institution. I believe that with the invaluable help of all the full time staff at the Grange we’ve achieved that aim and above all previous measure. We are being noticed and consulted by those who influence.

Thank you all most sincerely for allowing me the honour and privilege of serving as your president and most especially for the warm, generous and sincere welcomes that I have received as I have gone around the branches, IOSH is alive and well and flourishing thanks to you. I am humbled by what many of you do in both the day jobs and as IOSH volunteers.

I wish Nattasha every success in her coming year of office and know she will do everything in her power to continue to move IOSH and the profession forward. If she has as half a great time as I have had then she will be in for the best year of her career (so far).

Ray Hurst
November 2008

Goodbyee! Goodbyee! (part 2)

IOSH president — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:45:00 +0000

14/15 October - Off on my travels again, this time to visit the South West branch in Plymouth. Thanks to Trevor Sillifant I have the opportunity to look around HMS Montrose, a type 23 frigate, and afterwards meet the captain in charge of H&S in the dockyard before attending the branch meeting itself.

I was impressed with the number that turned out to hear both Jon Cooper of Bond Pearce Solicitors and myself. It was almost standing room only, which I think is a good indicator of the vitality of the branch.

My thanks go to all on the branch committee for asking me and for the warm welcome I received from everyone. I would also like to thank the Royal Navy for allowing me look around HMS Montrose and to the OOD for being so patient with me with all those questions I asked.

20/21 October - Now it’s off to the Isle of Man International branch for their conference on proposed changes to the CDM Regulations (which the Isle of Man government is currently considering prior to their introduction a little later –probably early 2009). I get the opportunity to present a Presidential Distinguished Service Certificate to Steve Bentham for outstanding service and a presentation of some very nice crystal ware to Paul Hornsby the soon-to-be ex Chairman of the IOSH construction group. This was done at the unanimous request of the branch executive committee to mark his long and dedicated service.

22 October - Back at the grange for the Board of Trustees meeting then straight off to Birmingham International Airport to fly to Belfast to speak at the Bombardier Aerospace annual safety reps away day. This was fixed up earlier in the year when I spoke at the HSENI spring conference – thank you to Craig Gamble of Bombardier who invited me.

My flight was delayed and this left poor Chris Macartney from the Northern Ireland Branch standing around in the cold at Belfast International airport waiting to give me a lift to the venue. However, his company over dinner (which was a chip butty from what I am reliably informed is the best chippy in Belfast), the few drinks and the chat we had were very pleasant and informative. I discovered that Chris was about to go off (the following week) to Dublin for his peer review for CMIOSH. I trust that went well. Chris was also keen on getting involved more with IOSH as a volunteer and I understand that he has now put himself down for training to become a mentor to other aspiring safety professionals. This is the sort of enthusiasm among our younger members that we need to nurture. Good luck Chris!

27 October - Get a quote on the Jeremy Vine show on BBC Radio 2 in reaction to the story about the man refused permission by the Forestry Commission for a permit to forage for firewood (after many years and many permits before) because of….. yes, ‘elf and safety.

29 October - Off to London for the annual dinner of the Society of Occupational Medicine at the invitation of their president, another example of the close co-operation between the two professional bodies.

3 November - This is my last official “outward facing” function as your president, consisting of a presentation to an audience of local business leaders in South Bedfordshire at the offices of the District Council. This had arranged through their environmental health department. Pauline McIlravey one of their EHO’s had requested me to do a 20 minute session as part of the European risk assessment theme. Pauline has been one of those EHO’s who has been part of the filming being undertaken by October films as mentioned above.

Goodbyee! Goodbyee! (part 1...)

IOSH president — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:19:17 +0000

An appropriate heading I thought on which to end my year as IOSH president especially as we approach Remembrance Sunday and the 90th anniversary of the end of the Great War, and the actual hand over date to Nattasha is 11/11. In case you are wondering, the above words are from a well known (at least in 1914-18) music hall song.

As I write this there are but six short days to go before the AGM and I hand over the reins to Nattasha as she embarks on her presidential term of office. Not quite in the same league of course as the other presidential race across the pond, but nonetheless, for both her and I, it is a milestone moment.

I’ve left this particular posting until today (well that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it) as my very last “public engagement” as your president, and other than twiddling my thumbs until next Tuesday I have little left to do except reflect on the last year.

I have of course been doing things since the last posting and this should update you on my activities.

8 October - The prestigious surroundings of the London Hilton in Park Lane beckon for the equally prestigious IOSH/SHP black tie awards dinner. The latest edition of SHP covers all the details of the well deserving recipients of those awards in various capacities/fields of endeavour, so it’s not my intention go over them again in this posting. I would merely say that the event was a night to remember for the award winners, guests and for me too. It was particularly pleasing to hear Lord McKenzie once again talk in glowing terms about the safety profession and IOSH.

9 October - Straight off from London on the train with Rob Strange IOSH CEO and other members of the SMT to Leicester. After some meetings and catching up on e-mails. It’s off to Rugby for the inaugural Allan St. John Holt Memorial Lecture organised through Royal Mail and RoSPA.

The lecture itself was, as Allan would have loved, both thought provoking and contentious in its scope. Allan was never one to steer clear of controversy when it came to the profession or IOSH – so it met its aim fully and gave attendees much food for thought. I look forward to next year’s lecture.

10 October - Get back from Rugby and find myself being interviewed for Anglia TV who would like to do a piece on the World Conker Championships. So off we go to a local country park (with no conker trees). In the meantime I learn that John Holden (who will be the next president elect subject to ratification at the AGM) has been doing something similar with Granada TV in Manchester.

11/12 October - Off up to Northamptonshire and Ashton for the conker championships itself. Massive interest in the IOSH stall (who would have thought that bonkers golf t-shirts would be so popular?!) and from the press with Anglia TV news doing another interview to cut together with what they did on the 10th.

A film crew from October films were there too - filming a segment for a Channel 4 Cutting Edge programme they are working on relating to OH&S. They’ve been following and filming some EHO’s (IOSH members) and some HSE people as they carry out visits.

To my undying shame I was knocked out this year in the first round by a Frenchman. Angie from the IOSH webteam was the only IOSH player not knocked out in the first round. We all had a great deal of fun and were able to spread the sensible safety message.

13 October - Get to see the segment filmed for Anglia TV on the evening news and I think IOSH and the profession comes out of it well. I also got a letter from my local MP wishing me well in the competition, I understand he has picked this up from local newspaper coverage (and the fact I mentioned it to him – more than once when we last met).

The start of a busy month

IOSH president — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:00:00 +0100

1 October – I stay overnight at the Union Jack Club (UJC) where of all coincidences I bump into another IOSH member (Daryl Hillier) at the bar and we get to talking shop among other things (as one does). Many thanks for the entertaining and stimulating company Daryl (and the drinks) hopefully at some time in the future we can get to do it all again. I am then off to Rose Court for the quarterly meeting IOSH holds with HSE. I am accompanied as usual by Rob Strange and Nattasha Freeman in her role as president elect.

That evening I attend the ALARM (what used to be the Association of Local Authorities Risk Managers) recognition dinner in Westminster. Another very useful networking event (even if it doesn’t help the waistline – but that is probably beyond saving anyway). An interesting and pleasant evening perfectly rounded off by the after dinner speaker in the form of the well known author and leader of the Bravo Two Zero patrol in Iraq during the first gulf war - Andy McNab DCM MM. Now there is a man who knows all about dynamic risk assessment and what can happen if it all goes wrong (although Andy put it a little more colourfully).

My sincere thanks go to ALARM for the invitation to attend and in particular to their national chairman Richard Feltham and their board of directors, long may our two organisations continue to co-operate closely.

2 October - Another overnight stay in the UJC then it’s off home for personal admin (need the DJ dry cleaned and dress shirt washed/ironed ready for a private non IOSH black tie event on Saturday).

A media storm

IOSH president — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:30:00 +0100

19/22 September - I took a break from anything IOSH in order to spend a few days with some old work colleagues in order to visit my old boss (now retired) who now lives in the picturesque Yorkshire town of Howarth (home of the Brontes).

26 September – A pleasant visit to East Anglia Branch (as a branch member) to listen to a fascinating speaker on the Barrow-In-Furness legionella prosecution and all its twists and turns relating to the manslaughter charges. I’ve got to keep those CPD points up to scratch just like everyone else!

Before leaving to get to the meeting I had a call from the media team in the Grange asking if I could do a radio interview over the phone, unfortunately I couldn’t as I would still be driving at the time station wanted to do it. Many thanks to Malcolm Adcock, IOSH’s media manager, who stepped in to do it for me.

After I arrived at the venue and caught up with some branch members I got a call from a researcher at BBC Radio 4 wanting to do a piece on the conkers championships and our sponsorship for the PM programme. This was closely followed by a call from Radio 5 Live who also wanted to run a piece later that day.

To cut a long story short it got as far as Radio 4 booking a taxi to get me from the venue to the BBC Radio Cambridge studios but then PM pulled out (running a story about an attempted aircraft hijack in Germany). However, Radio 5 live drive ran with it via an over the ‘phone interview from home at 6:50pm. I think it went well.

29 September - Late evening I get a call from BBC Radio Essex, can I do a slot on conkers in the morning, happy to oblige but it has to be sooner than they plan because I have to catch an early train to get to London.

30 September – Arrive at my local station at about 6:35 am and as arranged the night before go to the car park to RV with the BBC Radio Essex interviewer. I am expecting to see a van with a great big aerial sticking out of the roof (like last year) but no. It seems as if the radio van has gone on the “blink” with a dodgy clutch. After a couple of calls the interviewer and I “hook up” together around the replacement radio car (a Peugeot 207) but the link with the studio keeps cutting out. In the end I finish up doing the interview over a mobile ‘phone link standing in the pouring rain. Oh the glamorous lifestyle of an IOSH president! However, it went well although the item was also shorter than they planned because of the link up problems. I am beginning to get a bit paranoid about technology and me in light of the Chiltern branch episode and this. If you count the complete crash of my desktop PC (mentioned in the last blog update) technology and I are seemingly at odds.

Hopefully I got the points across about sensible safety. Then on the train to meet up with Rob Strange our Chief Executive in order to attend an IIRSM function being held at the House of Lords. Good to catch up with a number of old friends from IIRSM and talk shop. Lord Hunt of Wirral acts as our host and another good friend of safety professionals Lord McKenzie of Luton gives a presentation which includes encouraging comments about the various safety bodies coming together to look at how we can achieve a regulated profession and debunk the dafter OH&S stories.

I was also sorry to see that this was the final day at work for Julie Silvester (IIRSM CEO) who I have had the pleasure to meet and talk to about common areas of interest to both IIRSM and IOSH over the last couple of years. She is off to travel the world and I wish her the best of luck in that and good fortune for her future career whatever that may be.

Meetings, dinners and yet more dinners (but plenty of food for thought too)

IOSH president — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:51:13 +0100

Knowing my poor record for updating this diary as I do, this will probably be one of the last few entries before I hand over the Presidency to Nattasha Freeman on 11 November.

However, I have some time to hand so let me bring you up to date. There's a lot to get through, so I'll post it in sections over the next few days.

16/17 September – IOSH Council meeting

Members may not be aware that Council of Management meets twice a year: a one day meeting in February and a two day meeting in September. Since the governance changes agreed by Council back in 2004 the day to day running of the Institution is managed by the senior management team. The Board of Trustees meet 6 times a year to look at direction, finance, and overseeing of the management systems.

However, this Council meeting (as they often are) proved to be an interesting one, with items raised on the members forum at the forefront of the debate.

By now you should be aware that Council minutes will be posted on a separate page of the IOSH website for all those members who want to see the thrust of any particular debate and the outcome (where a vote was required). This will be subject to the usual rules as they relate to data protection and confidentiality (e.g. commercial sensitivity or issues relating to individual members).

Council also discussed other items raised on the forum such as “electioneering” which also generated a lot of debate. These discussions and the outcome of the debate will be included in the minutes and published. As noted by the Chief Executive, publication on the website for scrutiny by members should be within one month from the date of meeting deadline period.

Day 2 of the meeting saw the election of senior officers and the confirmation of Nattasha Freeman as the Council nominee for president for the year 2008/09 and the election of John Holden (Manchester Branch) as Council nominee for president elect. I was elected as the nominee to become Immediate Past President for 2008/09 - no other candidate eligible it seems…

18 September – Chiltern Branch Visit

Not too far from home this one, can be done in a day by car. However, never underestimate the power of the M25 to create chaos. Despite leaving plenty of time I still only arrived by the skin of my teeth. A good meeting marred only by technical problems at the start of my presentation – yes, I had tried it all the night before and it was working perfectly but somehow or another the gremlins got into the system and this meant I had to delay the start by some 30 minutes or so. This left Sarah Hamilton and Mary Sturgess from the Grange too short of time to present their session, my apologies once again to them. However, the branch is inviting them back at a later date. I believe they were able to answer questions from the floor on a range of issues while I was trying to get the laptop to co-operate.

I wish to thank personally the branch exec for lunch, those members of the branch who took the time and trouble to speak to me individually at the end of the presentation to say amongst other things “…it was worth the wait.” My thanks also go to the IT guys at the Grange who spent most of those 30 minutes trying to talk me through a solution.

IOSH president — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:45:00 +0100

10 September - back at the Grange for the Board of Trustees meeting along with Nattasha Freeman our President Elect. Nattasha also attended the NSS event and I think she’s beginning to get a flavour of what delights are in store for her after the AGM in November when she takes over the presidential role. A reminder to all, the AGM is on 11 November at 4.00pm at the Hotel Marriott in Leicester.

11 September – I’m in the FT! Well, a letter issued by our media team responding to a story about the Better Regulation Executive and small businesses. It’s good to see our media strategy having an impact, as not all of our responses to the press make it into print. And it’s even more satisfying to know that our responses are being read – it was the first thing HSE Chief Exec Geoffrey Podger mentioned to IOSH chief Exec Rob Strange when they spoke this morning.

13/14 September – reading through the Council agenda and supporting papers in readiness for the Council meeting next week. Also having a look at some of the threads posted on the members discussion forum (which I do regularly, by the way) which makes me think that the next council meeting will be very lively. Also of course some time was spent in updating this blog.

On a personal note, I’ve been having major problems with my desktop PC over the last couple of months. It finally gave up the ghost (big blue screen of death) week before last while viewing a CD-ROM. Why mention this? Well of course we all learn from our mistakes (don’t we?) and I’ll remember in future to back up all important data so I don’t lose it – seems the data on the hard drive is irrecoverable and I’ve lost everything – so this was clearly a 4 star stupidity error (see stupid aid week event in my last post). It will only become a 5 star stupidity error if I do it again. Thank goodness for the laptop my children bought me for Christmas last year! At least I can access/send emails - although I seem to have lost some 3,000 plus that were stored on the desktop. Anyone out there expecting a Christmas card later this year might go without – personal addresses went too!

Back in the swing

IOSH president — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:31:09 +0100

After a relatively quiet August, it is back into the swing of things once again.

2 September - Branch Action Day at The Grange. This gathered together branch elected officials to discuss a range of issues following on from the recommendations made by the branch review working party. Most (but not all) branches were represented and those who attended will be reporting back to their branch committees and members on the event.

4 September - I was back in the Grange to welcome Andy Green and Stupid Aid Week to IOSH. Yes, you read that right. Andy is a PR professional and author of various books on communications. He’s doing the rounds to promote a new book – Overcoming stupidity in the world around you – which encourages creative thinking to help anyone fight back, combat or at least not feel helpless when confronted with stupidity whether it is dealing with bureaucrats, your boss or when the buck stops with you.

This accomplished author’s cause, among other things, is tackling the misuse of health and safety, so often used as an excuse to ban trivial activities. Andy makes the point that “so many good causes, such as sensible health and safety or risk management are being undermined by stupidity. Stupid Aid has a serious message – we want people to get in control of their world and fight back against stupidity, or not feel so helpless whenever they come across it. We hope it will not be a losing battle.” Amen to that.

The day was entertaining, enjoyable and more importantly very informative. By the way, stupidity is not due to low intelligence but inflexibility in thinking. There are numerous examples of very clever people who do stupid things.

5 September - in London at CMPi offices for the judging of the IOSH/SHP awards, which will be presented on 8th October.

7/8/9 September – I attend the National Safety Symposium in Warrington. This is the annual event from the IOSH Public Services Group (PSG), which has been running for 35 years. For me it was a little like coming home, as I’ve attended many times over those years as a member of MAPS then PSSG now PSG. I was honoured to be invited back as in 1993/4; I had the privilege to chair the group. Special thanks go to all on the event working party and the team at the Grange who arranged the event and made it the success it clearly was.

At dinner, I made a presentation to Brian Dowsett, who has recently retired from Zurich Municipal, on behalf of the NSS organising committee. Brian has been an IOSH member, leading light and active supporter of the IOSH/ZM awards over many years, in fact my first recollection of Brian was visiting him in the then new MMI offices in Farnborough back in the late 80’s when I was the IOSH/ZM awards co-ordinator to plead for more money to put into the awards – which he managed to arrange. I was also pleased to recognise his efforts with a Presidential Distinguished Service Award, only one of seven that have been awarded during my year in office.

I was asked to hand over the Chain of Office from the outgoing chair, Marion Johnstone to the incoming chair Bruce Philips. My congratulations go to Marion for steering the group so well over the last 3 years and my best wishes to Bruce for picking up the baton, I know he will both uphold and enhance the traditions of PSG over the next three years.

And in a surprising turn of events, I was also on the receiving end of an award. Marion presented me with an award that recognised my services to the public sector over the years, which I had no idea about.

There are too many excellent speakers of note over the two days of the symposium to mention them all: Judith Hackitt CBE, Chair if the HSE kicked off the conference with a rousing keynote; Eldeen Pozniac, President of the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering, delivered another cracking speech; Paul Pascoe from Australia gave some great advice on how to spice up OH&S talks and get your audience engaged. I look forward in eager anticipation to next year’s event.

Those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

IOSH president — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:56:10 +0100

Some who read this diary, my old boss for one who I think is still keeping an eye on me, have been asking why no update on this diary since late July when I got back from Korea and Hong Kong?

Simply put, it’s because there’s been little happening. August is the traditional holiday period and presidential visits and events seem to taper off a fair bit. I have therefore been largely twiddling my thumbs, although there has been far too much washing, ironing and use of the vacuum cleaner in there too for my liking. I’ve also been catching up on e-mails and IOSH correspondence, reading the chat forums on the IOSH web site and writing to various newspapers (the usual suspects of course) to rebut yet more daft ‘elf ‘n’ safety’ stories like the reported “ban” on older persons’ whist games etc. All in all a nice relaxing break, or perhaps the calm before the storm?

I’ve attended a few IOSH meetings including the Board of Trustees, and I also had a very enjoyable visit to the South Wales Branch to talk about the sensible safety message. Thanks to all those that turned up on a very wet day for making me feel so welcome.

Some of the rebuttal letters we’ve had published have had a mixed response from members of the public, some supportive but unfortunately others that still think that all the ills of the world are a result of ‘elf ‘n’ safety’ bans on innocuous events, we still have much to do but at least we are getting noticed. There is a saying “if they are having a go at you then you must be doing something right.”

You may have read by now that we’re sponsoring the World Conker Championships again this year, and we hope to get a lot of positive coverage through the media as we did last time – so John Humphrys and Chris Evans, here we come again. The only blight on the horizon seems to be the one affecting UK conkers this year – seems as if there may not be enough available for the competition and we may need to source from abroad. Any out there who want to form a team and take part too? Have a look at the event website and get your entries in soon before all the places are filled. I hope that I avoid getting a yellow card this year!

September soon and the diary is starting to fill rapidly, looks like the end of the holiday is imminent. It’s also the time of year that the president starts to reflect on what has happened since taking on the role last November and the time when the president elect starts to realise what is in store for them next year!

Hong Kong and man flu

IOSH president — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:00:00 +0100

3 July: Met by the HK branch Chair and others from the branch Executive and we head off to the meeting with the Deputy Director of Housing, Hong Kong Government. This went exceptionally well, and we discussed a number of issues of mutual interest.

I attend the HK Branch seminar and a “Meet the President” evening. I was very pleased to present two Presidential Distinguished Service Awards during the course of the evening to Vincent Ho, the Immediate past chair, and another to Frankie Hau. Both awards are richly deserved and reflect the dedication and hard work put in by both to benefit the branch, the Institution and the profession. I was also able to show a further mark of respect by presenting certificates of appreciation to branch executive committee members for their hard work. Too many to mention by name but they know who they are and my thanks go to them once again.

It was also my pleasure to present a chairman’s pendant. It was then on to the main business of presenting a “state of the nation” address to the branch members, quickly followed by “designing in safety and keeping it there.”

4 July: Two more governmental meetings today - with the Deputy Director of Buildings in the morning, and then the Director of Architectural Services in the afternoon. During the evening there is a chance to unwind a little and attend a BBQ with Andy Lo (IOSH Council member) and his wife Anita.

5 July: Now we come to the really fun part. Frankie Hau invites a number of us to visit Ocean Park where he is the Environmental, health and safety manager for a behind the scenes look. Now this is an impressive set up with cable cars, tethered balloons, animals, fish and a range of the usual park rides. I was particularly interested in the Panda’s (my daughter who is 27 is a Panda fanatic – and has been since she was about 6 months old). So we took lots of photos (which I emailed back home) and spent a fortune on panda souvenirs. There was a ride in a tethered balloon (couldn’t go all the way up – a bit too windy), a ride in a cable car, a visit to see the dolphin show, a look at the jellyfish and shark exhibits. We also saw the construction work currently underway to enlarge and improve the parks facilities.

We then move off to have a look at Stanley Market (and a welcome cold beer). In the evening we attend a gathering of the Executive Committee to have a traditional Cantonese style meal – I will master the use of chopsticks.

6/7 July: Spend a couple of extra days in HK at my own expense to do a bit of sightseeing – unfortunately on the first of those days I have “man flu” (which has been sneaking up on me for about 3 days) and spend most of the day in bed. The next day it’s raining stair rods and sightseeing is out of the question, so I have a bit of a potter about locally before going off to the airport.

8 July: Fly back to Heathrow.

9 July: Personal admin day.

10 July: Respond to e-mails and try to update this diary.

11 July: Meeting at the Grange with some MEP’s and also for a photo shoot.