5 Week Health & Safety Course: A Concise Account

There is a statement I made in my first post, which those of you who have read it should be familiar with. I said that “anything I can do or use while here which will help me develop professionally and give me a head start, I will…”

Shortly after starting my course, I was emailed by my school’s ICE Liaison Officer suggesting I sign up for student membership of the Institution of Civil Engineers (@ICE_engineers). I did so and immediately after joining, it became apparent how much opportunity for development the institution provides for both aspiring and qualified civil engineers. Soon after my membership was confirmed, I received an email notifying me of a 5 week health and safety course. I didn't want to make the mistake of grasping an opportunity and failing to utilise it, so after discussing it with my sister, we decided I should attend. We said it would be a good networking opportunity and if nothing else, it would allow me to “get my feet wet”.

Organised by the ICE Graduates & Students London Committee (@ICELondonG_S), the course comprised of five lectures and was led by committee member @Kokkinos_Chris, a Project Manager for Turner & Townsend. The lectures commenced on the 2nd of November, taking place on a weekly basis, concluding on the 30th, and were held at the Institution of Civil Engineers on One Great George Street in London.

Speakers & Topics:

Roland Grzybek, Regional Director — Floor Risk Management — Water — Europe, @ch2m— An Introduction to H&S and your Professional Review

Roland Gryzbek opened the course by giving a focus on the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, explaining how the act is derived and the parties involved. He also gave an in depth look at causes of fatalities and injuries in construction, providing some key industry figures, before looking at occupational health, giving some examples and causes of work-related diseases. Following this, he looked at the IPD Development objective E2 and explained what must be demonstrated at a professional review, stating mandatory attributes of a successful candidate and giving examples of the kinds of questions which may be asked.

Ann Metherall, Health & Safety Partner, Burges Salmon LLP — The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

Ann Metherall looked at the HSWA in more depth, giving a step by step overview of the legislation with industrial examples of its application, after briefly looking at the English and Welsh legal system and the UK safety framework. She explored some areas of uncertainty and key legal issues before going on to look at the laws surrounding corporate manslaughter and individual liability.

Chris Hayward, Senior Health & Safety Consultant, @ArupGroup— An Introduction to Designer Duties Under CDM 2015

Chris Hayward outlined the role of the Health & Safety Executive and explained the key aims of Construction Design & Management regulations, who the duty holders are and their duties, and what CDM classifies design as. He also discussed the key changes in the latest 2015 regulation and took an in depth look at the role of a designer before looking at how to design out risk.

Keith Prince, Head of Health & Safety, @balfourbeatty— H&S Management — A Principal Contractor’s View

Keith Prince provided a lot of figures for current UK H&S performance while giving a comparison to the EU. He gave an in depth look at the role of the principal contractor within CDM before sharing examples of good engineering, equipment and standards practices. He then discussed project plans and risk assessment as key processes and procedures before concluding by looking at occupational health risk management and behavioural safety.

Steve Hails, Health & Safety Director, @Crossrail— Managing CDM & Europe’s Largest Infrastructure Project

Steve Hails concluded the course by looking at Crossrail in the context of CDM. He explained the role of the CDM Assurance Manager before detailing the management arrangements of Crossrail and spoke on how the competence of external companies are assessed. He then took an in depth look at the 6 CDM control points of Crossrail.

Something that stood out to me was a point made by Roland Gryzbek where he highlighted the problem of occupational health. My understanding of what he was saying is that often, the “health” in “health and safety” is inadvertently ignored and a heavier focus placed on the “safety”. That is not to say that less attention should be paid to safety, rather more should be paid to health and a more holistic approach to be encouraged.

The main figures he outlined were:

• 90,000 construction workers suffer occupational ill-health each year.
• More than 1 in 24 are or have been affected.
• Average of 2.8 million days lost due to work related occupational health illness, equating to 1.3 days off per worker per year.

The effect of occupational ill-health is clear to see, and it follows that better occupational health within the industry would mean that projects can be completed in less time while costing less too. I think it will be interesting to see how the standard of occupational health changes over time and where it will stand by the time I am ready to enter the industry.

Overall, the course was well organised and delivered and there was a lot to be taken from it. It was useful to me because it gave me a taste of what I will need to know once I embark on my career. From the course, I gained an awareness of what kind of practices I will need to develop, and more importantly for me personally, how health & safety fits into the initial professional development and professional review processes. It has given me a brief introduction to the laws and regulations in place which influence the design and construction processes, such as CDM and the HSWA, which I’m sure I will study at a later stage.

While discussing the course with my sister I said to her that given the stage I am currently at, there was a lot of information delivered which I doubt I will be able apply just yet however, I feel like it has given me a good head start for when I will need to. In response, she said to me that a lot of successful professionals know their industries and one of the best ways to do this is by being open to various sources of information i.e. attending seminars or courses like this one. She said that even as a student, attending events and courses, taking classes or reading books which may seem too advanced can be helpful as there is always something that can be learned from them. I feel that these words are important for any student looking to go into any industry as I imagine that sometimes, some of us hold ourselves back because we believe we are not ready for certain opportunities.

I have realised that on the way to becoming a successful professional, it is vital to not limit yourself and to be able to put yourself on the front foot, by utilising and engaging with resources and people above the level you are at. By taking it upon myself to attend the course, I feel I have taken a step towards my professional development and have enabled myself to do more and operate above my ground level.

Originally published at abovegroundlvl.co.uk on January 18, 2016.