How to Manage a Health and Safety Group

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Managing a Health and Safety Group

by Maurice Adamson, Treasurer, Teesside Safety Group

www.teessidesafetygroup.co.uk


Introduction
Background
Corporate Image
Membership
Finance
Management Structure
Business Promotion
Annual Programme
Special Events
Marketing & Publicity
The Future

Introduction

Health & Safety Groups are typically British organisations, independent, voluntary and still as far as we can gather, unique across the world. There are now some eighty of them straddled across the UK. Their role is to organise local employers and others with an interest in health and safety, to meet to discuss ways of improving health and safety standards.

For a small fee, any firm can join its local group, so membership covers both large and small employers. In fact any organisation anxious to improve its health and safety standards and to keep up to date with changes in health and safety law and policy is welcomed.

Background

Construction companies in the Teesside area formed the Teesside Construction Safety Group after pressure was shown by the local HSE Inspector of Construction. A meeting of companies was held at ICI Wilton in August 1989 when officers were elected, thus the commencement of the Group.

Over the years, due to the various activities of the companies joining the Group, it was decided by the Committee to dispense with the word ‘Construction’, therefore the Group changed to its present title Teesside Safety Group.

Like most voluntary bodies it has a written constitution and is run by elected officers and committee members.

An annual programme of activities can include meetings, seminars, workshops, and company visits. Since its inception in 1989, it has had six different chairmen.

A health and safety group is a business and cannot afford to stand still or otherwise it will fail. Our business is providing a forum for discussion and debate on health and safety issues, keeping up to date on legislation and the promotion of a health and safety culture in employment and the wider public.

Corporate Image

Since the Group began, it has had an annual printed programme of activities as well as simple headed notepaper. The Group also has a logo which is the Transporter Bridge, a focal point on Teesside. The British Safety Council, RoSPA, Safety Groups UK, and Working Well Together Campaign logos have been added to the annual programme and Groups correspondence.

Membership

Anyone interested in joining are sent an information sheet outlining who the Group are, the objectives of the Group, the number and location of meetings and joining details etc., together with a registration form and invoice, upon receipt of the completed documentation plus a cheque for the appropriate fee, new members are sent a copy of the Groups annual programme, members handbook and membership
certificate.
A list of members has been produced which shows the registration number, contact name, name of organisation and full address including postcode and telephone number. The Group has 4 levels of membership; members, honorary members, life Members and retired members.

At the end of December 2008 the number of paying members was 123.

The Group now has its own website on the internet and details of members email addresses have been sought; this will improve communication between members and the distribution of information by Mouchel Business Services who provide an Administration Service on behalf of the Group.

Finance

Like the majority of groups, the main income for the Group comes from members subscriptions, additional revenue from seminars/conferences is an added bonus.

Most groups, and we are no different, are exceedingly grateful to a number of people and their employers for a wide range of ‘unseen’ support with the administration of the Group.

The administration support to the Teesside Safety Group is provided by Mouchel Business Services and includes typing, photocopying and free distribution of the Groups mail for which the Committee is most grateful.

The management team regularly reviews our financial position at each meeting when the Treasurer presents the financial details. The annual subscription remained at £24.00 since the inception of the Group until 1996 when it was raised to £25.00.

Owing to a substantial increase in the hire of the meeting location, it was agreed by the Committee to raise the annual subscription to £30.00 from 1st January 2002 and a new subscription of £10.00 was brought in for retired members. The annual subscription is a standard item on each year's AGM agenda, when a decision is made to change, or not, the fee/s to be paid.

A financial statement is given to all members at the AGM listing all items of income, expenditure and finance in the bank.

Management Structure

The Committee comprises of the usually elected honorary officers:-

  • Chairman,
  • Vice Chairman,
  • Secretary,
  • Treasurer,
  • Organising Secretary,
  • Promotion/ Publicity Officer
  • plus Committee Members.

The Groups programme runs from July to June with the AGM held in May. The Committee meetings are always held prior to the main Group meetings
commencing at 12Noon until 12.45p.m.

Business Promotion

A policy on the use of the Groups name and the publication and use of member organisation names and contacts has been drawn up and issued to all our members. This is included in the membership pack.

Annual Programme

A printed programme has been produced since the inception of the Group, it carries the Group name and logo on the front cover plus the British Safety Council, RoSPA, Safety Groups UK & Working Well Together logos. Inside is a list of the Committee and contact Tel. Nos., details of subscriptions and the Groups programme, listing dates, subjects and speakers. The meetings are held on the last Tuesday of each month, except August and December, at the Marton Hotel & Country Club, Middlesbrough, commencing at 1.00p.m.Any seminars and/or conferences are held as either half or one day events. An attendance register is signed by members at each meeting with a separate register for seminars/
conferences. Analysis of these records show how often members attend meetings and also how popular the chosen subject for each meeting is.

Special Events

The Group participated in the European Week of Safety and Health in 2000 and won a regional award, which consisted of a framed certificate and a solid glass globe of the world on a wooden base. The Group also received a national award which was a framed certificate in the Working Well Together Construction 4C awards in 2003, in the category of Communication. The Group won an award in the Alan Butler Memorial Awards in the category of Best Seminar/Workshop in January 2006.The award was presented at the House of Lords.

Each year at the Groups AGM the Stan Winkworth Memorial Trophy, which is a golden helmet on a wooden base placed in a glass case is awarded to the most successful student in the NEBOSH General Certificate. The college where the student studied holds the trophy for 12months and the successful student receives a framed certificate. Candidates are drawn from colleges of further education and centres who are members of the Teesside Safety Group.

Marketing and Publicity

It is generally accepted that health and safety is not a subject to inspire the media to publicise the need for good management of health and safety. The exception to this is when a major incident occurs, when the question of accident prevention comes to the fore.

The annual programme, in addition to sending a copy to all members, is distributed as follows:-

  1. A personal copy to the business desk of the local evening paper for advertising
    the Groups meetings in their business diary which is produced weekly.
  2. A personal copy to the editor of RoSPA OS&H Journal for publication of the
    Groups events in the Group forum section.
  3. Copies sent to the local branch of IOSH for distribution to their members.
  4. Copies are available on the Safety Groups UK stand at the Safety and Health
    Expo. Held at the NEC in Birmingham.
  5. Copy sent to SGUK for publication of the Groups events on their website.
  6. Now the Group have launched their website, we are hoping to obtain further publicity.

The Future

If the Groups movement is to continue and grow –the HSE now recognise
Groups as an official intermediary in their work programme & campaigns-we must not be complacent and expect our influence in the community to continue without any effort on our part.

There are probably many aspects of the Groups activities that could be improved upon. If anyone has any suggestions or examples of improvement which you feel will assist the Group, please speak to a member of our Committee. Our Group are always open to new ideas/suggestions.

 

Maurice Adamson, Treasurer, Teesside Safety Group

September 2008