Posted By Safe System Me first! Never was interested in Safety until a close family friend was doing something daft on site and fell from height, died upon impact, landed infront of his son working below... then my brother, again working at height, failed to tie a ladder and spent the next 3 months in hospital... a few years later i was offered the chance to get in safety and i thought about the past and hey presto! here i am...

Posted By John Allen My father suffers from occupational deafness due to continual exposure to industrial noise. At 85 he’s now almost stone deaf but even 40 years ago when I was a teenager he was very deaf. It did (and does) make life very difficult for him and everyone who knows him. Then when I worked in a stationery factory and a good friend of mine lost his hand in a guillotine accident. Later I went to University and during my study of the industrial revolution learned something of the terrible conditions in the mines and factories of the 18th and 19th centuries, but also that an organization had been set up to bring about improvements – HM Factory Inspectorate. Realising that improvement still needed to be made I decided to apply to join HMFI on graduating. The fiery enthusiasm of youth may have worm off but I still think I can make a difference.

Posted By Buzz Lightyear Wanted to be a superhero and save lives - before accidents and occupational diseases happen - sort of a bit like Minority Report. Been doing it for 22 years now so hopefully I have saved a life or two but will never know because it is preventative. So, perhaps it is worth it - in spite of the media and public vitriol towards H&S.

Posted By Safe System Hi Lee, comment noted however there are new people joining the forum weekly so a fresh topic will hopefully bring up new answers. (will check the old one though! thanks)

Posted By Richard Altoft 35 years in construction and project management with a real love of getting the job done without hurting people and with luck to meet H&S people who believed that getting the job done was right but who also believed in not getting people hurt whilst doing that job. I met some exceptional H&S people and was never happier than being in their company. Progressively moved into H&S via a MSc degree and starting my own company. Never thought about my own personal "boxes" until then and found H&S (the way I do it anyway) ticks all my own boxes. It ticks all my needs for personal high standards, technical stretch, human contact, interest in law and adding value to the community and making the world a better place for my kids and my grand kids It is my delight to say taht in my opinion the best thing in H&S is the H&S people in it.Anyone who sees it as a job had better leave as it will disappoint you - start seeing it as a vocation and a profession and a community like no other.Enough said R

Posted By Pete48 Because I just knew it would be full of list collecting people :):) Top 50 reasons for being in safety. Reason number 1. It paid the best money when I started. Reason number 2. It was more attractive than being blamed for absolutely every machine breakdown happening at the worst time for production and this despite the same managers refusing access for maintenance and repair. Preventive maintenance, wash your mouth out!. Reason number 3. A certain very attractive young lady was on the team and she still is on my team xxxx years later. Reason number 4. It was ground breaking stuff back then, a safety manager and not a safety officer. Reason number 5. A chance to study and develop into a new area of management. Reason number 6. Oh dear, age is such a chore, now what was I saying........zzzzzzzzzzzz But what of saving lives and preventing injuries I hear you say? No they were not reasons to choose H&S, I was doing all that as a line manager long before I chose H&S as my focus career.

Posted By gerry d With over 25 years experience in construction, H&S (and sometimes lack of it!)has been pretty central to most things I have done. I don`t know exactly when or how I developed my affinity with it although I`m guessing it might be something to do with two or three bad things that either happened to me or on my watch. I have not chosen H&S as a job on its own but it is a core part of what I do and I love it. I have been fortunate to meet some wonderful people along the way as well. I work for a good company who really do care about their people. There have been times when apathy and cynicism have threatened to jeopardise my relationship with H&S but I put this down to being exposed to the `negative people` who give H&S a bad name (always other companies & contractors). As I get older I am now considering developing and furthering my career as I do not possess anything more than the IOSH Managing Safely certificate. I have no plans to leave the company I`m with rather give them the benefit of my expertise and enthusiasm. What should be my next step?

Posted By Robert K Lewis Finding out that I had been standing on top of my best friends body for nearly 21 days on June 22nd 1974. Many of us are here because of life changing experiences and have the characteristics that wants to change things for the better. Bob

Posted By Graham Bullough After university I was in my second temporary job in 1976 when I saw a newspaper advert for people to join what was then the fledgling HSE and become factory inspectors through copious training plus on-the-job experience. The job seemed to be a worthwhile one with plenty of variety, challenge and interest, so I applied and got accepted after a preliminary and then a main interview. Also the starting salary of just over £3k at that time seemed very generous compared with the average of £2 to 5k for most jobs for new graduates. When I applied for the job I knew very little about safety and health – or indeed most other aspects of work and work organisations - except that HSE was a new organisation and that its main component the Factory Inspectorate had investigated the Flixborough Disaster which occurred on 1st June 1974. It’s pertinent to mention this date for anyone who might be puzzled by Bob Lewis’s response above. Also, since my teens I’d been fascinated by industrial and mining/quarrying history, and therefore enjoyed studying economic history, with an emphasis on the industrial revolution, as one of my first year subjects at university. Thus I already knew something about when and why the Factory Inspectorate and also the Mines & Quarries Inspectorate were established. After over 10 years with HSE I “changed ships” for various reasons to become an adviser with a sizeable local authority. It is a unitary authority, i.e. providing a full range of council type services, so my work for it has involved a correspondingly wide range of activities with ample variety, challenge and interest, just as the HSE work did. Although each organisation has its share of positives and negatives, just like any organisation in fact, I still think that overall I’ve been fortunate in having a useful career with variety and interest.

Posted By Ray Hurst Me - purely by chance. I was getting married and moving to East from South London and I didn’t fancy the journey across town on a daily basis. Stage 1: Saw a job advertised for a clerical assistant –Road Safety in a convenient location nearer to new home. Applied and got the job. Here is where I struck lucky my boss was one of those who enthuse about the role (and with a terrific sense of humour) he was encouraging and took me out on a range of visits, lectures training courses etc. A little later (about a year) a vacancy arose for a road safety officer (same place) I was encouraged to apply for and got it. Then spent the next 8 years enjoying ever minute and honing and enhancing my qualifications and skills under his support and direction. Stage 2 First child (now a full time fire fighter) was born and we needed new larger home. Moved to Essex and found journey into London (before the M11 was completed) very tiring and tedious. After doing this for about 16 months I saw a job advertised in the local paper for a Personnel Assistant (Health and safety) and thought this can’t be that much different to Road Safety (stupid boy).The office was only 10 minutes from home so I “Boned up” on HASWA, OSRPA and FA then applied and got the job; again I struck lucky and had a very supportive employer who encouraged and paid for me to take qualifications in the profession. Then I moved on to a more senior role after 4 years and spent the next 25 years with the same employer. Third time lucky too, I had one of the best bosses possible who guided and encouraged me in the profession and importantly supported me in my various IOSH roles. How did I become involved as a volunteer with IOSH? Well that’s a whole other story. My driving force, although I never thought about it at the outset of my OH&S career was the fact that my father lost both his legs as a result of an accident at work when I was 11 years of age. The memory (often in the early days I believe sub consciously repressed) of the impact that had on us as a family and me as a child was what made and keeps me passionate about what we all do. There have of course been ups and downs as there is in every field of endeavour but generally I have never regretted spending my working life as a safety professional. Interesting to read the various ways in which individuals have become involved whether by “accident” (sorry intentional pun) or design in this profession. Ray Hurst Immediate Past President

Posted By SteveD-M Mmmm set me thinking.. Fell into it..yes I know no fall arrest etc!!. Making improvements as a Site Operations manager in the chemical/pipeline industry. Saw what money I was saving from doing some of the safety stuff. Realised if I wanted to make further improvement I needed to become qualified. Got qualified and hey presto bigger jobs across Europe. (light at the end of the tunnel..no someone with a torch bringing more work...)stayed there for 15 years... Moved into Law as a potential career move..although haven't moved across fully...so foot in both camps..

Posted By Phil Clash i didnt...it chose me...ohhh how it hurts!!!

Posted By Adam Worth Whilst working in a Sweet Shop in Devon post travel I was like - 'hmmmm what can I do next' A post to these forums and I found myself drawn into the world of Top Tier COMAH, ending up in the North East. 2 years on I was lucky enough to make my way back to Devon and now work in manufacturing as a Process Safety Engineer (Even tho I'm a Chemist)

Posted By GaryC40 Eliza, At the risk of sounding unprofessional - you have the prettiest name of any HS professional i have ever come across - or indeed anyone! Note to mod. I trust the odd compliment is permitted! :) Back to the thread. Watched my dad die slowly from angina, lung disease and cancer from 46 years down a pit. The ironic thing is he was born a mere human but died a proud miner. Miss him every day :( GC x

Posted By wayne purchase i got in to Health and safety by pure accident, got made redundant on the Thursday a friend of a friend told me there was a job going where i am came for an interview explaining that my experience was from being a tutor for a motor training company teaching basic health and safety, i explained this and got the job for being honest and a go getter. i think i have done really well over the past year and a bit!

Posted By Paul Graham Baskeyfield .....because my only memory of my dear Grandfather was as a five year old - passing him tissues as he lay on his deathbed with chronic lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust in the pottery industry.

Posted By Rod D Spent 22 years in the Army, were dare I say it Safety became Second Nature. Then near the end of my Army Career I ended up on the Tri Service Guardroom Advisory Team. Where we used to go round inspecting Unit Guardrooms and giving them advice to ensure that these were run safely and in the line with The Imprisonment and Detention Rules 1979. And by chance I got an interview for a Safety Managers position at at new Immigration Facility near Heathrow in 2001 , were I spent 2 years. I then went in to consultancy for 4 years to get a broader view and I now work for a West End Based Property Company, where no two days are the same, with some very High Maintenance Tenants. So after 22 years in the Army looking after people the job just continued. Aye Rod D

Posted By Gus I was asked a similar question during an interview last week - my answer: " Because I believe I can make a difference" I never imagined I would become a 'safety bod' when I was younger, but the opportunity arose and it looked interesting..... and after 12 years it still is!!