Posted By Joe Hardiment I have recently been asked to be involved in a safety awareness day and I am looking for inspiration !! I do not want to go down the usual route and looking for a different view. If possible I am looking for an individual who has had an accident who can relay the information from a personal point of view. Taking into account how that accident changed their own perception of risk and how it affected them. I look forward to your responses - please email me at jh.safety@yahoo.co.uk Regards Joe Hardiment

Posted By grim72 I was at a WWT event in Penrith yesterday and they had a guy gave an hour presentation on his accident and the effects on those around him. His name was Frank Carrano: A life changing experience - the human cost of an accident and the impact it has on others. I thought it was an amazing presentation and helped you look at things in a different light. He was very much focusing on the pressures of 'time and money' in decision making processes which is known to anyone in the industry. I will email you his website details (in fear of being sensored for recommending a solution to someone - again!)

Posted By steve e ashton Or hows about an 'off the wall' approach that I have used very effectively in a series of past 'awareness raising' events. Get some members of Casualties Union to arrange an accident - very loudly and very vividly - in front of your audience (perhaps at coffee break or end of lunch so they have time to stage the incident effectively). Find out if any of your delegates remember any first aid (if they've ever been trained) and are willing / able to use it... And find out how well your delegates' witness skills stand up under scutiny - did the guy fall or was he pushed. And was he wearing his safety helmet - or did he fall because someone threw it at him? And in the de-brief - have one of the casualty team 'throw an epileptic seizure' (this used to be my forte). Force all your delegates to re-evaluate just how much they think they know, and to recognise how frightening it is to be present when something horrible happens. I could almost guarantee it will make them more 'aware' of their own attitudes, and more alert for the future when it becomes 'real' for them. At another event - we were all trying to outdo each other - I recall an absolutely stunning discussion about PPE which was supported (if that's the right word) by nothing more than three or four packs of prophylactics (condoms to you and I). The presenter was able to keep her audience mesmerised whilst talking about some very serious issues (Personal fit, compatibility, protection factors, personal preference, BS standards etc) in a fun and 'off the wall' (literally bouncing off the wall-use your imagination) way! If your company (client) culture allows this sort of approach - don't just think of powerpoint-and-talk (or wheeling in the guest victim - no matter how inspiring - for a powerpoint-and-talk). Use your imagination and really get the audience to sit up and take notice. Make it 'real'. It works. I still recall the Self Contained Breathing Apparatus commentary delivered through an inflated bit of rubber. Fifteen years after the event!!!! (And the time we used a smoke generator in the lobby is still fresh in my mind...). Steve

Posted By gerry d Ken Woodward visited one of our sites a few years back around the time when they were implementing mandatory eye protection. Someone (not one of our guys thankfully) actually had the temerity to ask `why they should have to wear safety glasses`. Oh dear. Kens` presentation was excellent though despite this numpty. Last year one of our group H&S meetings contained a presentation called `Crash Course` run by the Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service. A brilliant, thought provoking session with some very powerful and hard hitting stories. I can throughly recommend it.