Posted By H.S.E.people [reference removed] is a new website designed exclusively for people working or recruiting in the area of Health and Safety. The site is 100% Free to join and offers members the ability to exchange information and network in a way that has not been possible until now. [reference removed] combines the best features of Social Networking, Job Sites and Training resources all in one place. Members can build a profile advertising their availability, services they offer and any company information they wish including contact details and web links. Other members can browse profiles and search using key words or location. It is easy to send a message to a member’s inbox or to leave a comment on their profile. Members can upload pictures, safety videos or even music to their profile and can easily add other friends also on the site. It is easy to view who is online and rather than send a message or email, members can chat quickly through the sites instant messenger or using the sites forums where discussions can range from requests for information, exchanging general chit chat or talking about job leads. The forums offer freedom of speech and are not over moderated like other forums on the Net. One of the main features of [reference removed] is the free jobs pages and RSS Jobs Feeds. The first allows any Recruiters / Companies on the site to list HSE Positions on the forums for FREE. The jobs pages are proving very popular with already over fifty agencies posting jobs in the first six weeks and many success stories starting to emerge of successfully placed candidates. The second is the RSS job feeds which are pulling jobs in from lots of other job sites all over the Web. These are broken down into categories and update as soon as jobs are listed on the relevant sites. This means that we are very confident you can find more HSE jobs on [reference removed] than any other site on the Net! The best part is it’s FREE to list, browse, search and apply for Jobs. More ways of exchanging information is also available to any member on the site. Any member can create a blog to their own profile. If the content is relevant to other [reference removed] then that blog can be posted to the site magazine with moderator approval. Everything can be done from the control panel at the left hand side on every main page on the site. [reference removed] is a community site and in looking for ways to fund the site, keeping the content relevant to Health and Safety and not plastering the site in banner advertising we have came up with a few ideas that may work well with your business. Firstly, the Events page, this page allows Trainers or Course providers to upload details on training events they are holding in the near future. Members of the site can then enlist for the event. [reference removed] will only charge 10% of the course cost per delegate signing up through the site. It is free to upload an event so you have nothing to lose by giving it a go. Secondly, is the addition of a links page that will be coming very soon. This page will be broken down into three categories: Recruiters, Trainers & Consultants. Here you can place a link on a main page of [reference removed] and advertise your business to our members. As the site is new we are offering the first 25 links for only £150. If you would like to show your support for [reference removed] and promote your business to our ever growing number of members please contact Kevin@hsepeople.com Thirdly, we will in the future be offering a product review page. This will be a great way of getting your product out into the market and visible to our members. We particularly want to hear from PPE Companies or Safety Equipment manufacturers who would like us to review their products. This service may eventually expand to course providers. Lastly, [reference removed] is hoping to soon be able to offer a Document Library that any member will be able to add documents too. Other members will then be able to browse, search and then download any document they need. We think this will prove to be a very valuable and popular page. How many times have you been required to write a new procedure or produce a risk assessment or training presentation on a subject that you know other [reference removed] have probably covered thousands of times? No longer will you need to reinvent the wheel… Power points, Presentations, Forums, Posters, Regulations, Procedures, Formats and much more will all be able to be uploaded. This page is proving expensive to make and it would be great to hear from companies interested in sponsoring it. We are sure it will be the most popular page on the site and we could offer your company some fantastic exposure. [reference removed] is only six weeks old but already proving hugely popular with almost 1000 members, the site has so far grown mostly on word of mouth. Only now are we starting to appear in search results and directories. I think this demonstrates how much of a hit the site is. We hope [reference removed] becomes the one place recruiters go when looking for candidates, Candidates when looking for jobs, Companies when looking for Consultants and [reference removed] when looking for information or training courses. The site is currently receiving over 2500 hits a week and that is increasing with every new member that signs up. We are working hard to appear at the top of Search Engine Results and even though it takes time and a lot of effort we are committed to making [reference removed] a Success. I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to create a profile on [reference removed], Advertise your company or business and have a feel round see what you think. If you see the potential in the site and wish to support it by any of the above mentioned methods then please do drop us a line. Your support will make the site a success and hopefully the one stop shop for everything HSE. Hope to see you there. Kevin Forbes www.hsepeople.com

Posted By Eliza Flutterby It's!!! :-) (really sorry, couldn't resist, Paul!!) If someone comes on to the public forum and asks a basic question then I would expect them to be treated with a modicum of respect, instead of being treated to abuse or patronising comments. None of us know who that person is, they don't necessarily have to be involved in H&S at all. Maybe they HAVE used google and come up with this site, thinking "Ah, a professional H&S body, am sure somebody here could help me out" - only to be shot down in flames. However, if someone on the Members' Forum asks a very, very basic question, then I would be quite concerned. If you don't like the question being asked, or if you feel it's below your level, then you don't have to answer it. Simples!!! Cheers Eliza :-)

Posted By Eliza Flutterby Fair point, Swis!! Cheers Eliza :-)

Posted By Kevin Walker Competence for providing advise is one of those topics that usually get everyone going and then literally ends up with a debate about levels of qualifications and what is better. Some of the discussion makes me laugh because levels of competence is a more what people are eluding too rather than competence in general For example, we all have first aiders in the workplace, they do their course and it is assumed they are capable of providing first aid in all situations. We do not expect them to provide anything more than a basic level of care. However like any system there a levels of competence the first adier hands over to a paramedic who in turn hands over to a doctor who in turn may hand it over to a consultant/surgeon etc. Health and safety is the same and this thread shows that there can be huge differences in responses and attitudes to what some would describe as basic questions. What I think is more compelling is that these questions, apparently simple in nature, gain the most number of comments and answers, conflicting or otherwise. Take for example the multitude of questions that constantly appear about RIDDOR, PAT testing, wearing shorts, etc. However when real technical questions are posted or those that require a more advanced knowledge of a safety there are very few or no answers. I think many of us are really good at answering the basic questions but only a few are capable of answering the more complex questions, if you look at the number of answers to recent questions involving noise calulations, chlorine levels etc, and the type of responses. Maybe this is because many may consider themselves competent in their area they are not competent or feel comfortable answering the more technical aspects of our job. As such is this a reflection on the real level of competancy of H&S advise available. Kevin