The other morning I was driving down the A64 in Leeds, inching forward in bumper-to-bumper traffic. “Why is there so much traffic?” I asked myself, impatiently. “I bet somebody was driving like a loon and had an accident,” I continued, rolling my eyes.
As we inched along, black smoke appeared up ahead on the other side of the road, billowing out of a fish and chip shop.
Many years ago a company contacted me wanting an inspection for insurance purposes. The company supplied fancy children’s clothing to department stores.
So, I went and did the inspection. I gave them my recommendations. All of which they ignored: nothing was implemented.
It is general etiquette in the UK to never ask a lady her age. Still, many of my course students are astounded to learn that I am 36 years of age! In fact, a smattering of laughter will usually ripple around the room! Being 36 is an ongoing surprise to me too, not least because my oldest son is already 44.
In my article about ‘Reasonably Foreseeable’ I told you how two men cooked to death in an industrial oven in 1998. Based on the bakery environment, the events were reasonably foreseeable and the company was fined £373,000. (R v Freshas Bakery).
There is more to the story, however!
What do you think of when you hear the word “martyr”? My brain goes back to the 12th of June, 1963…
Three Buddhist monks emerge from a car at a busy intersection in Saigon. One places a cushion on the road. Another opens the trunk and takes out a five-gallon petrol can.
One rainy Saturday night in March someone attempted to murder my daughter…
My daughter is an A&E doctor. She was driving to work when a van appeared suddenly on a roundabout. The driver didn’t slow or stop, smashing straight into the side of her car. He was drunk and uninsured.
I need to tell you about the time I smuggled restricted goods in from Uganda. You see, smuggling requires a risk assessment. Not only that, but the perceived risks can change throughout the journey!
Did you ever hear about the 17-year-old workshop apprentice who needed to earn some extra dough?
It was coming up to Christmas, the nights were closing in, and he didn’t have enough money to buy his girlfriend a present. One day in the workshop, he had a gruesome money-earning idea…
I was telling you last time (catch up here!) that in the case of a health and safety breach, you’re ‘guilty until proven innocent’ in the eyes of the law. When disaster strikes, one defence is to prove that whatever happened was not reasonably foreseeable…
Do you have an ex-partner you’d like to go back in time and ‘straighten a few things out’ with? Well, today’s your lucky day, because I just happen to own a time capsule! Climb in and join me for a few minutes as we whizz back to July 1992…
Rachel, who is the wife of one of my clients sent me this video about how SafetyNow saved his life.
It shows the importance of using the correct equipment and having the right health and safety advice available.
Well after a very stressful day with the exams and it was nothing to do with the students but a “little” technical hitch from the service provider (which I cannot tell you about under pain of death) all students came out of the exam rooms happy. All 28 of them.