Posted By R Joe
A couple of positive suggestions:

Firstly, IOSH on its members behalf engage someone with the right abilities and media profile (the right sort of celebrity, ideally with a genuine personal interest as well) to talk objectively and positively in a media friendly way about the other side of H&S. There must be someone who could fit this bill. A positive celebrity endorsement for H&S if you like - and someone able to say that the media view is often a load of old ******** (in a humorous, viewer-friendly way).

Secondly, IOSH again on behalf of its members, in conjunction with HSE (maybe) and like minded others fund and produce a reality programme that we are happy with. There is a growing appetite for reality programmes that debunk myths as well in my view and ultimately it should not be beyond our combined abilities to get it aired one way or another.

Let's start to punch beyond our weight and move on from the naval gazing and frankly, at times, laughable discussions we have.

Posted By Juan Carlos Arias
The way the chaps in the MH training session picked up their chairs when they finished really made me laugh!! just showed how much they had learned!! hhahaha..

Let's not pay much attention to the program and concentrate in important things!

Posted By timwright
The only positive I got out of the programme and the way it portrayed the profession I am proud to work in, were the comments made to me this morning.

I undertook some toolbox talk training - Working at Height & the lads commented how much they got out of it & how fun I had made it with DVD clips & making it relevant to them. Giving them real solutions to real problems they face daily. Discussing concerns & what are acceptable risks & controls without worrying about conkers bonkers hazards & risks.

3 out of the 10 had seen the programme & were surprised at some of the things they had seen on the programme (both positive & negative) & felt it did not fairly reflect, in places, the activities of the way H&S is being managed & trained to them. Not just by me but by other safety professionals they come across at other companies in which they work. The debate continued with everyone realising that the media has much to answer for in trying to portray Health & safety as a kill joy & spreading myths & misunderstandings about the world we live & work in.

Perhaps my next toolbox talk will be on Health & Safety & the media. - What to believe

Regards
Tim

Posted By Dave Wilson
There is only one word that can describe this - AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!

Posted By Colin Reeves
A comment earlier "It was made to entertain, it did exactly that."

I found it extremely boring and, if I had not had a professional interest in it, I would have quickly channel hopped. Think the repeat showings will have few viewers.

Mind-numbingly boring ....

Colin

Posted By John J
To be honest I was wound up last night after watching the program, which is surprising as I pretty much knew what would happen.
You could see what the program makers were doing a mile off - extended camera shots which made the contributors look awkward, comments cut short to change the impression and using honest, passionate people who perhaps did not understand the way the media works.
Unfortunately for the program makers they ended up in the middle. Trying to give a balanced view gave no view and that's not good TV.
A better approach may have been to show safety professionals at work and play and incorporate some of the myths into that. As can be seen by earlier threads we have a wide variety of experiences and hobbies that directly relate to 'normal society'.
We are no different to most jobs other than some of us just care a bit to much.

Posted By AHS
It was a predictable parody all they needed was the theme tune of some mothers do have em to be played in the background.

It was a shame that the EHO didnt know that Sec 3(2) HSWA applied to self employed people harming themselves.

Posted By Paul R
Bearing in mind that last week's programme in this series was 'The Jacksons come to Devon' it was never going to be great was it? but overall it wasn't a total scandal and it could have been much, much worse. The 'desperate' voiceover made me laugh though!

I don't think we should get too bothered over this to be honest. If we make a big fuss I think it points our profession to the lowest common denominator.

Anyway, it started off really poorly (the donkey race item was what I expected for the whole thing) but it generally got better as it went on - on the way I thought IOSH came over well enough wrt the Conkers tournament item (well done Ray) and some of the HS professionals did pretty well for a programme of this sort. But even if it had not been on safety professionals, I don't think this was a very well constructed documentary in any event.

Paul

Posted By Jay Joshi
I came home late and watched the latter parts-was attending my 9 year old daughter's school's annual play-Charlie & The Chocolate Factory!

Could have been better presented, but as we all know, the producers have their own agenda, and we are unlikely to change it, but at least IOSH could get some coverage dispelling the myths at the World Conker Championships.


I was also surprised by the EHO's comments regarding the garage owner,in context of not having employees, therefore not much she could do.

I wonder who would get their vehicle serviced at the garage shown in the documentary??? I would not.

At least there has been a balanced and unbiased criticism in the newspapers so far--probably the only time they have done it--and that must be good!

Posted By Brando
Face it folks - we're doomed and going down the pan.

Posted By Brian Dawson
"Opening 30 seconds, 2 health and safety officers driving in cars, not a seatbelt between them. case closed!"


eh? Must be something wrong with my TV

Posted By bill reilly
Sen Sar
Cornflour Dust explosion
I was a mere stripling in 1964 when a cornflour factory exploded near where I lived killing four employees and reducing the large factory to rubble.More fatalities were prevented as the early shift ( including a close relative)had not yet arrived for work.

Posted By MICHAEL T
I didn't see the programme as I am banned from operating the remote.
However, aren't we missing the point here?
There are jobs-worth lunatics out there who are doing these OTT antics.
The result is that we all get tarred with the same brush.

Posted By Pete Chidwick

MICHAEL - you didn't see the programme but you are happy to label "jobs-worth lunatics out there who are doing these OTT antics". Do you know anything about any of them?

I hope that the advice that you give is a bit more considered.

Posted By Martyn Hendrie
As for no one outside the profession watching it, I had none construction site managers on a course today eight had watched it and one had recorded it to watch tonight.

Thankfully none of them recognised safety advisers they have met, with the way the participants were portrayed.

Posted By Graham Bullough
Even if “Fun Police” had contained more of what we in the occupational safety & health community would have wanted (even allowing for personal variations as reflected by the numerous postings about it on this forum) it was a relatively fleeting one-off programme lasting less than an hour when you consider the time occupied by adverts. Furthermore, in view of the competition from other channels, it probably did not have a wide audience.

Most types of work have now been the subjects of TV “fly on the wall” documentaries, e.g. the various strands of environmental health in several series of “Life of Grime” over recent years. The producer/s and broadcaster of “Life of Grime” evidently thought that environmental health was sufficiently interesting for viewers in terms of curiosity/prurience, entertainment and information to do more than one series. However, the lack of at least one similar series about the work of HSE inspectors by now strikes me as a curious omission. Surely inspectors from the various parts of HSE deal with a far greater range of activities, people and situations than those which come within the remit of environmental health. Perhaps HSE has been approached in the past by documentary makers about this. If so, HSE may well have rejected their proposals because of concerns over the degree of editorial control it would have, if any, over what is ultimately broadcast. In this regard, is there anybody reading this who can tell us if any of the local councils featured in “Life of Grime” had any editorial control?

Whether or not HSE has been approached in the past, perhaps the HSE top brass might consider allowing a documentary series in the foreseeable future. The advantages for this surely include being able to reach a wide audience as to why HSE exists and what its inspectors and specialists do as regards real hazards and risks.

Irrespective of whether HSE will be involved in documentaries in future, is there scope for IOSH and interested members to consider suggestions as to what could and should be included in a documentary series? Surely such a series could include willing IOSH members working in various sectors including the more “televisual” ones like off-shore oil platforms, construction and transport. Among other things it should certainly convey to viewers an idea of how many people were killed and harmed at or by work in say 1974 compared with nowadays and highlight the significant reduction in fatal accidents.

If there is sufficient interest and support for this as a pro-active project, could those involved on behalf of IOSH then seek out a company which would be willing to work with the material and people available? If this is feasible, a documentary series could be used among other things to further publicise and demolish various myths about safety & health, and also help to make IOSH as well known as RoSPA!

Finally, has anyone got any suggestions for a reasonably catchy title for such a series?

Posted By Jeffrey Watt
I have a twisted sense of reality at times folks.

Some say "counter intuitive" but I know I'm just twisted.

So....

I think Ed will make a clean fortune because of this programme. After dinner speaking, lecture tours etc.

Jeff

BTW. High speed squash balls used to be the biggest cause of sight loss then those groovy goggles without any glass in them put paid to that and the injuries fell away. The next was canes in gardens that people impaled themselves on. Go Ed...Go Ed...Go Ed.

Posted By Nigel Bryson
Dear All

Most of my working life was spent toiling as a health and safety specialist for the trade union movement, starting with the Thatcher years. As a result I do appreciate how the media work. However many, many years ago, a friend of mine said ‘Don’t get angry, get even!’. So.

The national media are not that interested in our opinions of what we want them to say. So why don’t we – IOSH members – do something about it? Why don’t we, as individual members:

1 Post a digital photograph to the ‘this is my life’ board on the IOSH website. If each of us supported the initiative being done in our name, there would be over 34,000 examples. [At time of writing there were 56.] This could provide a comprehensive range of material for Ruth and her colleagues to promote the things we want to promote.

We are in the business of saving lives and improving the quality of life for working people. The photographs would aid the current promotional work. You have till the 1st February 2009 to get it in. Ask your family; ask your friends; ask your work colleagues; circulate e-mails; ask your MP. The more photos the greater the evidence that can be presented to the media.

2 Look back over our professional life and send Ruth and her colleagues one example of where we were successful; where we saved a life; where we improved safety; where we got rid of hazards; where we improved the quality of somebody’s life; where we made a difference. If we each did this, Ruth would have over 34,000 examples which could be used to promote what we are doing. We are health and safety professionals. If we each cannot find one example, we really are in trouble!

3 We each could contact our local press. We could volunteer to write topical articles for the editor on health and safety issues. Local press are on the look out for copy. In my local newspaper I have come across companies who have promoted their health and safety record, health and safety awards, safety tips etc. It may not be every week but at least they are more accessible than the national media.

4 Help our Branches promote the positive work of IOSH around specific health and safety issues in the local media, if we couldn’t do it ourselves.

5 Keep an eye out for RSI Day (Last Friday in February – 27th February 2009), Workers’ Memorial Day (28th April every year), National Stress Awareness Day (Wednesday 4th November 2009), Action Mesothelioma Day (27th February 2009) and see if they can be used to promote the work of IOSH in preventing injury and disease. If these are issues that are relevant to you, the positive things done by you and those working with you could be promoted.

6 You could write to channel 4 and suggest they have a follow up programme, the ‘Not So Fun Police’. In this sequel, it could be suggested they change the format. They could do interviews – in different locations – of, say, a police officer, a HSE inspector, an Environmental Health Officer, a manager and a trade union official. They could ask each about what it was like to knock on someone’s door and tell them the person they love the most in this world is dead. Even with the most innovative editing it is difficult to see where they could get some light hearted banter.

I’ll leave it there for the moment.

Of course, we could just forget about the programme because we didn’t like it and get back to our job of saving lives. And let’s not tell anybody about our successes. Let’s just leave it to Ray, Rob – when he is fully recovered - Natasha and Ruth to conjure up examples of us saving lives and improving the quality of life of working people from thin air. They are, after all, IOSH.

Cheers.

Nigel

Posted By Guderian
I saw the programme and thought it was very poor, doing nothing to enhance the h&s profession. It did nothing more than sustain the usual myths about h&s.

With out meaing to be personal at all, afraid it has to be said it used examples of 2 people who were dealing with (i) low risk situations - the EHO and the nail glue issue, all be it relevant to certain individuals and (ii) the consultant chap who appeared to display the expected approach to h&s so much hated by the media. To spend 5 minutes of the programme talking about garden canes in a private garden and how to put knives in a kitchen draw is not occupational safety. It doesn't make interesting TV thats for sure.

From my own interest (process/engineering safety) there was only the minimal coverage - the dust explosion and the small vessel/jet fire. Only a limited explanation as to what was going on.

Certainly my area of h&s is probably better covered by a more scientific BBC 'Horizon' type documentary (even that has dumbed down over the years).

The next time we have a Buncefield or Pipa Alfa, h&s will be seen as more interesting, well at least for a few weeks. And of course h&s will be to blame for the next big accident too, because the regulations stuff will be found to be flawed.

Posted By Merv Newman
1. thanks to those (Ruth and Ray) who provided links to TV critic reviews. It was very pleasing to seee that they, at least, are sympathetic.

2. Am I a nerd ? Knive handles in our kitchen drawer are towards the opening, points to the back. Spills (a daily occurence in our house) get cleaned by the person what done it.

3. It's the tree-felling season. Where did I leave the chain saw ?

Merv