Booney a few years ago I was employed as part time H&S manager for a manufacturing company employing just under 250 employees on a 3 shift system. I was initially employed 2 days per week which was increased to 3 but during an HSE investigation the Principal Inspector asked for a meeting with my MD in which I was included. This worried me as I pressumed I must have made some error but no the inspector said if I had I would not have been in meeting. He then pointed out to the MD that he had no issues with what I was doing but felt due to the size of the plant and the diverse operations in the manufacturing process they were not complying with Reg 7 (3) as he felt I was not given sufficient time and resources to fulfill my function. This was also subject of the subsequent IN. I was then employed fulltime was part of management Team and given additional resources so good result I felt

It really is horses for courses. For example, there are five of us (four advisers and me) for 2,500 employees. By some standards, that's far too many, especially as we operate in relatively low risk environments - no heavy engineering for example. However, we have over 400 workplaces, and about 3,500 volunteers, so the simple logistics of us being where we need to be when we need to be there makes a headcount of 5 just about enough, on a good day. So if we were a small NHS hospital Trust I would reckon that 2 of us would do; all on one site etc etc. Start by drawing up a risk register; what the elements of risk are, who owns them, how they will impact on the organisation's objectives, where the risk rating should be versus where it is. Use this to evalluate what SSOWs you will need. Use that to identify training need etc. Having a written analysis will help you, John