Looking for any fresh ideas/topics for a safety week in a manufacturing company. We have used in the past; Fire safety, safety in home, car safety checks, safety crosswords, safety quiz's, safety videos, talks, plant inspections, best safety improvement, manual handling etc. Any interesting suggestions for office environment, maintenance or a manufacturing area would be appreciated.

Aiden How about taking some of your risks assessments, getting some camcorders and asking workers to 'enact' them on film ie go to a workplace and do a video risk assessment. Get a few people to do the same risk assessments and see what they produce. Could provide useful training material. Or take some procedures and get worker to 'enact' them on video. If you could use small cameras with a microphone people could then give a running commentary, such as how practical they are in the face of reality. It would need thinking through + dealing with confidentiality etc. However if the idea is put forward so that it is subject to comment, communicated, planned and some acknowledgement for best film - criteria, judges etc would need to be considered for fairness - it might provide an interesting exercise. Who knows you might even start a trend of 'visual risk assessments'. As the legal requirements require written risk assessments, these videos might be considered as aides to implementation. Cheers. Nigel

Written? Really? My reading of the regulations on risk assessment comes up with: ". . . record the significant findings of risk assessment. This record should represent an effective statement of hazards and risks which then leads management to take the relevant actions to protect health and safety. The record should be retrievable . ." Using this interpretation, been using video for years, as (at least) a part of assessing risk. It's a record, it leads to action to deal with the problems shown, (or it shows best practice on a good day) and - unless you mess up - it's retrievable. Headcams are on my wish list now, as these show the true user journey - 'us videoing them' isn't quite the same, but both will give a complete picture of the work. I think the suggestion for Safety Week is a great one.