Interview with Jonathan Dempsey (Part 2)

Jonathan Dempsey is the director of Red Laces, a relatively new consultancy focussed on providing strategic delivery, inspections, audits and incident management. Jonathan is an MBA graduate and Fellow Of The International Institute Of Risk And Safety Management, known for his progressive approach to business. In this second of a special two-part conversation, Jonathan talks about why health and safety needs to be rebranded, the dangers of blame, and the creative value in health and safety interpretation. KEY TAKEAWAYS If we keep things at a document level, and fail to consider the people, you will create risk, create incidents, and by doing so, incur costs. There should never be blame in any organisation. Compliance and a fear of the regulator causes blame to appear. There’s a real perception out there, that Health and Safety is a boring subject. It’s up to the innovators in the industry to change that view.  The route to effective health and safety isn’t always black and white. There is room for interpretation, so long as the frameworks are adhered to. BEST MOMENTS ‘Target zero keeps that definition of safety very narrow’ ‘It’s the “S” in Health & Safety’ ‘It’s the adaptability and the agility that comes from these things’ ‘It was all about that shift in perspective’ VALUABLE RESOURCES The Interesting Health And Safety Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/training-competency-creating-effective-plan-process/id1467771449?i=1000452692837  Red Laces - https://www.redlaces.co.uk/blank-page-1 ABOUT THE HOST Colin Nottage ‘Making health and safety as important as everything else we do.’ This is the belief that Colin is passionate about and through his consultancy Influential Management Group (IMG) is able to spread into industry. Colin works at a strategic level with company owners and board members. He helps business leaders establish and achieve their health and safety ambitions. He has developed a number of leading competency improvement programmes that are delivered across industry and his strengths are his ability to take a practical approach to problem-solving and being able to liaise at all levels within an organisation. Colin also runs a company that vets contractors online and a network that develops and support H&S consultancies to become better businesses. Colin chairs the Construction Dust Partnership, an industry collaboration directly involving many organisations, including the Health and Safety Executive. He is a Post Graduate Tutor at Strathclyde University and a highly sought-after health and safety speaker and trainer. He has a Post Graduate Certificate in Safety and Risk management, an engineering degree and is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).