Posted By Paul Hay 1) The fact that a lot of people still see H&S as getting in the way of geting the job done. 2) H&S vs profit. Paul

Posted By Gordon Thelwell Good question! The main obstacle i find is that i am biased by my qualifications and experience. Try as we all do, how do we transfer our message effectively to 'non aware' persons regarding health and safety?

Posted By Raymond Rapp Ignorance!!!!! That is, ignorance of health and safety by middle and senior management. They need to be educated and I am not talking about regulations, but in the subtle aspects of implementing and managing policies. For example, if another manager tells me that all accidents and incidents are preventable I shall go mad. Zero Tolerance is a theory, whilst it is a noble concept, it has no place in reality. Sorry about the mantra - it's been one of those days. Ray

Posted By Richard Milne Hi Anne, In my experience, limited to manufacturing, the greatest barrier to health and safety communication has been the misunderstanding of what communication entails by management at all levels. I say management because they are responsible for the health and safety performance of the organisation with the top man taking ultimate responsibility. Effective communication, within an organisation, is much more than telling people what they should be doing or informing them of past performance and future goals. Communication has developed as a social activity that bonds and defines the acceptable behaviour for the social group and it should be noted that over 50% of that communication is non-verbal. A number of years ago a newly appointed departmental manager rang me with an urgent request for information, “A folk lift truck has run over a rodent bait box and smashed it, the contents are spread around, what should I do?” I explained the safest course of action and carried out a post incident risk assessment that included the instructions for safe disposal of the rodenticide were this to happen again. A few hours later I presented him with the documentation and advised that he communicate the contents to those at risk. “How do I do that?” he asked; “Just use your normal lines of departmental communication” I replied and was met with a blank look. At that moment the penny dropped and I understood the barriers to effective health and safety communication. The effectiveness of communicating health and safety information is dependant upon the efficacy of communication generally within the organisation. I am sure we have all experienced managers making excuses for errors rather than apologising and asking for the assistance necessary to be successful. This attitude leads to problems not being communicated upwards with the result that remedial action cannot be taken; this is particularly true for health and safety issues since they are often perceived as the most difficult to resolve. I say perceived because the most difficult issues to resolve are those of inappropriate management (does not meet the buisiness needs of the organisation); if that issue can be resolved then the communication of health and safety information will be effective. This is a very short reply to a BIG question. My message is that if organisations wish to improve their health and safety, then they should understand that a poor performance in safety is a symptom of ineffective management and not something to be rectified in isolation. Regards, Richard.