‘Elf and Safety’ – excuses mask serious issues

If you’ve had one of those weeks and you really need cheering up then take five minutes to visit the Health & Safety Executive’s website and check out their myth-busting pages. They’re an absolute hoot!

The HSE's myth-busting page is well worth a visit

So far there are 285 cases on their website where companies have used ‘health and safety’ as an excuse for not doing something.

For years we’ve heard about the kids being banned from playing conkers at school and that everything is ‘elf and safety gone mad!’

But what these health and safety myths and excuses are actually doing is detracting from a really serious point. In 2012/13 148 people lost their lives at work. 148 people went to work in the morning but never came home. That’s why health and safety is important.

At Wolverhampton Homes, we’re responsible for keeping our staff safe. That’s around 750 people – plus the 23,000 homes we’re responsible for in the city and our contractors. That’s actually a huge responsibility and one which we really do take seriously. Sadly - and this may come as shock to some; accidents do happen. With that many people, some using pretty dangerous machinery at times, people are bound to have a near miss or have that momentary lapse in concentration which we all have from time to time. You’ll never stop accidents from happening. But what you can do is put things in place to minimise those risks.

Last week, we had a visit from ROSPA (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents). They came in to look at our health and safety procedures and policies and so on. I met with their assessors last week and I was so proud to hear that we’ve been awarded ROSPAs Level 3 Award. A lot of hard work has gone into helping us achieve this and I’m so grateful for the hard work of our excellent health and safety team.

You mention health and safety to someone and they either roll their eyes or give that slightly glazed look. And this isn’t because people don’t care about safety – if you give me a chainsaw I want to know how to use it so I don’t lop my arm off! But it’s because over the years ‘elf and safety’ has been given such a bad rep because people use it as convenient excuse to either not do something or to not practice a bit of common sense.

We do live in a more litigious environment and I understand why people can be so cautious. But sometimes just a few simple measures and a touch of common sense could avoid a lot of unnecessary hassle and angst.

So – my plea is this: health and safety matters. It’s important and it saves lives so treat it seriously, use a bit of common sense and don’t use it as an excuse which trivialises something which is so important.

In the meantime, check out the HSE’s website – my personal favourite is not stocking plasters in a First Aid box!