Posted By Tony abc jprhdnMurphy Couldnt agree more, but the discussion forum isnt for mortgage advice or any other finiancial breakdown...its for safety.Trust me I fully understand the commercial aspect of what we do, but a safety discussion forum has to, by its nature, concentrate on issues around safety. If I want to discuss profit making I can access other sites, and in any case I dont agree with mixing my contribution to my profession with a balanced look at profit/loss margins. Further I am tired of looking at the postings on here which consistently address cost/insurer issues. In order to get a comprehensive view of how my fellow Safety geeks view the world it is of course important to understand the cost implications, but surely any serious debate has to have a common theme, which in my oppinion is a conscientious look at how we improve working conditions for men in our industry. The debate must be a clear indication of where we want to be and what (as a collective profession) is important to us. If it is money that holds the key I can live with that, but would not want to get involved in a discussion forum.

Posted By Alexis B Tony Quote' However my professional etiquette and ability to perform stand aside from cost issues. My question to anybody conducting a fire risk assessment is not how much you can earn but have you contributed to a safe system and can you walk away satisfied that you have contributed to an improvement in working conditions for people in your industry.' With regard to the last part of your last sentence I'm sure everyone in this forum would agree. That is the profession we have chosen after all. With regard to the rest, one first has to win the contract. I promote the 'value added' benefits of my service but am competing with others who win on cost and the client presumes they will get the same service and results that I have discussed with them. I know they don't but the client doesn't know what he's not getting and people on £125 a day eventually decide to put in the amount of effort they think that's worth. I know that is so because two of them (with a large consultancy) have told me so. The permanent members of staff then deal with follow up queries the client may have. We need to discuss costs in order to get away from them; to agree a basic minimum acceptable for an acceptable standard of work. Alexis

Posted By Anthony Slinger And how much did you (decide) to charge?

Posted By Alexis B Tony This is one thread. I have not seen this discussed before. I think it's proportionate.

Posted By Tony abc jprhdnMurphy Steady on. I dont feel strongly on this issue. I reacted to a thread (and trust me there are many) which once again raised cost and litigation as a main topic. I love the wide and varied discussions on here, I value the humour and the self criticism together with the constant stream of opinnion which makes me proud to be involved in this profession. My training, knowledge and expertise benefit greatly from this medium and I have the confidence and serenity to acknowledge other viewpoints that may in fact not always follow the underlying theme. The way I see it is that you are either a Safety Professional who wishes to enhance the standards in our industry or you dont care. There cannot be an in-between. That doesnt mean I feel strongly. It means I would like to make a contribution to this profession and that invariably means questioning things which i feel are up for debate. On the issue of forum discussions on safety topics I would, quite simply, like not to involve cost/insurance claims/litigation/lawyers fees and compensation.

Posted By 9-Ship But aren't costs/insurance/litigation all part of safety management or at least loss prevention. If there were no laws, then employers would do even less and we would all be out of a job! I don't see that you can clearly separate the 2 issues. Isn't the job also about safety people getting employers to face their responsibilities, which also has a cost - including our services.

Posted By 9-Ship Alexis - wouldn't you be from (at one time)a well known West Yorkshire based H&S/Personnel consultancy. If so, we probably know each other?

Posted By 9-Ship Alexis, how could you be forgotten - just think back to the safety consultants you have known in the past, and how my name here might be relevant. Lots of noise associated with my screen name!

Posted By 9-Ship Alexis Found your company web site & blog - definetly we know each other. Hope you are doing well. See, this site does have a use, ex-colleagues find each other!

Posted By Alexis B Jeepster It's probably not clear this far down the thread but the original query was from someone wanting to know what to charge for a fire assessment in a 2/3 (?) storey office ie what other lone consultants would charge. Most agreed that the individual was not currently charging for the value of the service. Whilst this was expanded to the value we place on ourselves as H&S professionals the discussion has not been about salaries per se. As you suggest, this information will probably be accessible elsewhere.

Posted By Ged Don't know about fire risk but a certain well known chain of cobblers wanted £10.65 to change a bog standard watch battery..not including the battery I may add...DIY cost 65p for battery 15 secs to change. Maybe it's time to change jobs!

Posted By Crim Is this thread still running, I've been away for a week and it's still here. I now wonder if IOSH could set the rates for it's members according to qualification and experience. This would save us from falling out with each other over who should earn what, when and why? It would also give the likes of myself more confidence to charge a higher rate for my services.