Safety And Risk Success

Most serious road collisions don't happen because of bad luck. They happen because of decisions, assumptions, and systems that quietly fail us over time. After decades at the sharp end of road safety, Rob Heard has seen exactly how those failures play out and why so many of them never needed to happen in the first place. This conversation goes far beyond driving. It's about risk perception, dignit...

There is a risk hiding in plain sight inside many organisations. It is not cyber, financial, or regulatory. It is the quiet damage caused when people do not feel safe to speak, when stress becomes normalised, and when well-being is treated as optional rather than essential. The evidence is now overwhelming. Silence has a cost, burnout is systemic, and culture is either protecting performance or qu...

As we step into the new year, it's a great moment to reflect on what 2025 really revealed about safety and risk." After conversations with more than 50 leaders, practitioners, academics and innovators, clear patterns began to emerge. Different sectors, different challenges, yet the same messages kept surfacing. This episode pulls those signals together and turns a year of dialogue into a clear pic...

Ergonomics has quietly moved from being about chairs and screens to something far bigger and far more important. In this conversation, I'm joined by Guy Osmond, who has spent over three decades at the sharp end of workplace ergonomics and human factors. What starts with back pain quickly opens into culture, mental health, neurodiversity, hybrid work, presenteeism, and why so many people are strugg...

As we close out the year, the conversation around health and safety is becoming sharper, tougher and far less forgiving. Enforcement hasn't quietly evolved, it has decisively shifted. Prosecution is now the default, scrutiny on directors is intensifying, and the margin for weak systems is shrinking fast. In this timely roundtable, I'm joined by Keith Mathews, from HCR Law's Insurance, to cut throu...

A huge amount gets said about culture, wellbeing, leadership and performance, but how often do we actually measure these things in a way that stands up to scrutiny? This conversation with Mark Wright lifts the lid on what thousands of workers across multiple continents are really telling us. The insights are sometimes uncomfortable, frequently surprising, and always actionable. If you want clarity...

Breaking into health and safety shouldn't feel like hitting a brick wall. Yet so many talented people, from career-changers to those looking for a fresh start, are being shut out by the age-old "no experience, no job" cycle. In this conversation, I sit down with Kev Robins and Ben Pollard to uncover the mission, the momentum and the movement behind The Safety Net Foundation : a new not-for-profit...

The conversation with Marcus Long left a deep impression on me. His blend of professional expertise and personal experience cuts straight through the hesitation that often surrounds suicide in the workplace. This isn't a theoretical issue or a niche wellbeing topic; it's something every organisation can influence for the better. With the launch of BS 30480, Marcus and the wider standards community...

Fatigue hides in plain sight. It silently chips away at judgement, coordination, reaction time and even emotional stability, long before someone reaches the point of nodding off. Yet many workplaces still treat tiredness as nothing more than part of the job. In this conversation with Dan Wakerley, founder of Pillar, we lift the lid on the true impact of fatigue, why it's entirely predictable, and...

How do you get frontline teams not just to hear your safety messages, but to believe them, talk about them and act on them? Jonathan Hall, founder of SMARTbrief, has spent over two decades helping organisations bridge the gap between the boardroom and the people doing the work. We explore how tone, trust and technology come together to make communication truly land, from creative campaigns in the...

Bonfire Night might light up the skies, but it's also the perfect spark to reignite our focus on fire safety. Joined by fire safety leaders John Field (Chair of the IOSH Fire Risk Management Group) and Bernie Higgins (former Principal Officer at London Fire Brigade and Board Member at the Fire Industry Association), we dive into what it truly takes to build resilient, fire-aware organisations, fro...

What if the key to improving safety wasn't more paperwork, but more genuine dialogue? Stuart Farquharson, founder of RiskTalk, shares how listening to workers and replacing forms with real conversations has changed the way leading organisations manage risk, engage teams and strengthen safety culture. It's a story of innovation, courage and the power of simply talking things through, backed by tech...

When tragedy strikes in the workplace, few moments are more sobering than standing in court to defend what went wrong. But what if you could experience those lessons without the pain of a real incident? In this powerful conversation, I sit down with regulatory lawyer and trainer Emma Bowens , who has spent two decades defending organisations in some of the most serious health and safety cases imag...

Ever felt that health and safety can be, well… a bit dull? Jon Fry thinks so too, and he's on a mission to change it. From sawmills in mid-Wales to safety consultancy and copywriting, Jon shares how small shifts in tone, humour and empathy can turn safety from a chore into a culture people actually care about. We explore how to communicate with impact, borrow lessons from marketing, and use data,...

Cyber threats are no longer confined to IT teams, they're everyone's business. In this powerful conversation with cybersecurity leader, author and founder of the Insecurity Movement, Jane Frankland, we explore the human side of cyber risk and what leaders can do to protect their organisations, people, and reputations. From high-profile hacks at Marks & Spencer and Jaguar Land Rover to the rise of...

How do you take risk assessment from being a paperwork burden to a living, useful tool that actually helps people on the ground? That's exactly what Phil Clarke has been exploring throughout his diverse career, from military intelligence, through environmental health, to leading safety across complex, multi-site organisations. In this conversation, Phil unpacks his philosophy of making risk assess...

Why do slips, trips and falls stubbornly remain the number one cause of workplace accidents, even in high-risk industries that are otherwise strong on safety? The answer lies in both human behaviour and practical action, and that's exactly what Daryl Wake of Dekra and I explore together. Daryl brings fresh behavioural data gathered across industries, showing how and why people really slip, trip an...

Slips, trips and falls may sound like minor mishaps, but they are a silent epidemic causing devastating injuries, financial losses and even deaths every single day. Entrepreneur and author Thom Disch joins me to expose why falls are one of the most underestimated risks in our lives and workplaces – and what we can do to change that. From psychology to products, from boardroom buy-in to bedtime sto...

Falls are often seen as "just accidents" or an inevitable part of ageing, but the reality is far more serious, costly, and preventable. I sat down with Jules Robinson, Occupational Safety and Health and Falls Manager at RoSPA, to dig into the truth behind falls, the misconceptions that hold us back, and the impact of their Fall Fighter campaign that's helping communities, organisations, and indivi...

Slips are the hidden danger we walk over every single day. They cause more major injuries than machinery accidents or falls from height, cost the UK over £1 billion annually, and devastate lives, yet most organisations still rely on yellow signs and luck. That changes with Sliptember: a movement to raise awareness, share proven science-backed methods, and help you take real action. This month, I'm...

How do you get people not just to nod along, but to genuinely change their behaviour? Neuroscience might hold the key. In this conversation with Jo Britton known as the CEO Whisperer, we uncover how our brains are wired, why change feels uncomfortable, and how leaders can tap into practical, brain-based tools to influence culture and safety performance for the long term. Highlights include: Why th...

Trust is the invisible thread that holds safety cultures together, without it, even the most well-meaning initiatives can crumble. In this conversation with Clive Lloyd, psychologist, consultant, and bestselling author of Next Generation Safety Leadership: From Compliance to Care , we dig into why trust is the true currency of leadership. From heartbreaking stories of miners coping with tragedy, t...

What can a hostage negotiator teach us about influence, decision-making, and staying composed when the stakes couldn't be higher?  Andy Brown's career spans 30 years in policing, followed by leading complex, high-risk humanitarian operations in some of the world's most dangerous places, from extracting colleagues under Taliban rule in Afghanistan to navigating volatile natural disasters and delica...

When did we forget that health and safety is about protecting people, not red tape?  In this energising and refreshingly honest conversation, I'm joined by Natalie von Tersch, founder of Mint, to explore the real-world impact of safety done well... and what happens when it isn't. From motorway fatalities to dishwasher debates, we dive into why safety culture needs a human-first reboot, and how to...

Is safety being absorbed, rebranded, or slowly phased out? As the world around us evolves, so too must the safety profession. We dive headfirst into the real tensions, questions, and opportunities facing modern safety practitioners. From the rise of ESG and AI to the shift in workplace culture, this wide-ranging podcast unpacks whether the traditional model of safety is still fit for purpose, or w...