Health & Safety Best Practice Exchange

From 'How to overcome assaults on staff' to 'Health & Safety Management Systems' - participants at the British Safety Council's first Health and Safety Best Practice Exchange were able to create their own tailored personal agenda from a menu of over 50 workshops, case studies and interactive discussion groups. They were also able to network with their peers, book one to one meetings with other delegates or BSC staff and attend presentations, case studies and demonstrations. The event took place in central London on the 24th January and involved over 140 health & safety professionals.

The British Safety Council was also pleased to be able to offer on the day an extra lunch time session on 'Contingency Planning for a Flu Pandemic' as well as blood pressure and body composition testing for any health conscious delegates.

The Health & Safety Best Practice Exchange enabled attendees to design their own learning experience tailored around their own needs, interests and challenges. The format of the event is designed to enable the effective sharing of best practice, through peer-to-peer interaction. It is a forum to foster professional networks and develop actionable ideas about how to improve health and safety in the workplace.

"A very productive day that generated a number of useful initiatives that can be applied within my organisation," Frank Barton, Group HSE Manager at Severn Trent Laboratories said of the day.

David Ballard, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council said at the event: 'BSC members have an enormous wealth of knowledge and experience. The real challenge has always been in finding ways in which this information, skills and experience may be effectively shared. I believe this Best Practice Exchange helps meet this challenge and fits with our coporate mission statement.'

Colin Douglas, Director of Communications at the Health & Safety Executive and who delivered the keynote address welcomed this new BSC initiative: "One of the best ways to raise health & safety standards is to share best practice with colleagues who face similar challenges. There is no better way to share this experience than face to face."