Posted By Jeffrey Watt RJT All of the above. But they are all modulated by the prime role of.... Earn money to buy shoes for my kids, that's a biggie. Jeff P.S. The Buddha says " Your work is to find your work and then, with all your heart, give yourself to it."

Posted By Andrew Cartridge Jeff What the hell have you been drinking??? Andy

Posted By Merv Newman Back when I was employed I'm pretty sure that I saw my role as, first, preventing accidents. Odd now I think about it, but somehow I didn't think too much about actually helping people to be safe. I just did things so that we would not have anyone hurt. It was probably due to the overall company culture : "you have a job to do for us. So get on and do it. Your job, Merv, is accident prevention. Go do it" Nowadays I do feel more for the people I work for, and their employees, though as a consultant it's all a bit second hand. But I did get a bit passionate yesterday, preaching "safety excellence" to a management team who STILL don't get it ! They do Armoured Personel Carriers and employees are frequently standing on top of the things with NO protection. 6 months ago I told them this was a no-brainer. Nothing has changed. Aaaaaaaaargh But the overall accident rate is way down. Thanks to the appropriate gods. Trying to beat your head against an APC would not help. But the money you get (eventually) paid most certainly does. So, yeah. Along with other respondants I do this for the money. And I very much like doing it, and they keep calling me back. Nice, innit ? Merv

Posted By garyh I note several references to advising "the management team". In every workplace I have worked in, the Safety people were part of that team. Is this not universal? Is it an aspect of perception - don't some of you folks see yourself as part of the management team? Are you not managing things in your role (and are therefore in the aforesaid team?)

Posted By Tabs If I was in a management meeting held in German, or French, I would make sure I learned the language. So I think you may be right - we should understand the language and the issues that profit, sales, product, etc., bring with them - and be fluent in it ourselves. I often talk of business risks or impact rather than H&S issues.

Posted By Merv Newman Most of the senior site safety people I know consider themselves and are considered to be "middle management" They usually get invited into "senior management" weekly or monthly meetings but not always for the full length of the meeting. used to happen to me. I have also encountered a number of 1st line supervisor level safety people. Sometimes they were very competent, other times not. But you can say that about some of the "middle" safety managers too. Merv

Posted By Simon Heesom I see your role as friend to everyone, friend to no one! Your boss will love you one minute and dislike you the next, exactly the same as your workforce. and if you attack everything as a safety nazi, I gaurantee they will all hate you all the time. just try your best, and remember the cost balance indicator and reasonably practicable!