Next Generation Health & Safety! With Ian Manners of DAC Beachcroft Pt.1

Colin is in conversation with Health and Safety specialist, Ian Manners, of DAC Beachcroft, a lawyer who has been hailed by Legal 500 as the Next Generation Health & Safety Lawyer in the South West in both the 2017 and 2018 editions.  In the first part of their fascinating conversation, Ian discusses the ways to drive culture change in business, the responsibilities of directors when it comes to health and safety, the evolution of risk assessment, and the importance of due diligence. KEY TAKEAWAYS A flexible working environment goes a long way in creating a positive culture in the workplace. Allowing staff to feel a sense of autonomy will create a greater level of engagement. Directors of companies can be held accountable for serious incidents, especially if they prove fatal, and if they have been seen to have acted recklessly in terms of health and safety. Risk assessment is a concept that’s been around a long time, but businesses still get it wrong so often, mainly when the process does not evolve with the company and proves ineffective when applied. Health and safety should be of paramount importance when performing due diligence assessment before a company acquisition. Depending on the response, you may take the view that the company has a safety problem, which may mean litigation. BEST MOMENTS ‘If someone wants to go for a run and switch up their afternoon, then so be it’ ‘You’ve got to spend more time on your business than in your business’ ‘Each organisation has to go through that process for itself’ ‘People fear million-pound fines more than they used to'   VALUABLE RESOURCES The Interesting Health And Safety Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/training-competency-creating-effective-plan-process/id1467771449?i=1000452692837  DAC Beachcroft - https://www.dacbeachcroft.com/en/gb/people/ian-manners/ [email protected] 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).