The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast

In this episode, Colin discusses the weekends! We all love the end of the week, but Health& Safety is 24/7. Colin asks you to challenge your practices and employees to make sure standards on the weekend don't slip and are equal to the rest of the working week.   Spend time this weekend going out into the workplace and finding employees. Have a chat about what they're doing that day; What's going o...

How do you choose the right contractor for you? Today on the Intereting Health & Safety Podcast, Colin gives you pieces of advice on how to select and induct your contractor. There might be a big pool of available contractors out there, but it’d be best that you and he understand what you both need. you can’t just pinpoint someone and give him the job as there will be risks for his health and safe...

In this podcast Colin completes his interview with Philip Tracey from Plexus Law, they discuss the recent changes in legislation and guidelines concerning individual prosecutions. Philip shares some key advice about what to do immediately after an event and the possible longer-term impact for individuals in a company where an accident has happened. This episode also covers how companies can be mor...

Risk assessment is what good health & safety is all about It Doesn’t matter what level you work at in a business; you should stay involved in a risk assessment process… But what does a good one look like? KEY TAKEAWAYS Who is involved; If they are written by management in an office then you are missing out on a fantastic opportunity to do it better. Go out, speak to the supervisors and employees a...

‘You must be very mindful of the human impact in those early days and weeks’ Colin is talking with Philip Tracey, Solicitor Advocate and partner in the firm Plexus legal LLP  He has been practising in the field of health and safety law for more than 25 years and shares invaluable advice about what happens when there is an event or situation that requires his professional involvement. His role is a...

"Ah mate, I just haven't got enough time!" In today's episode of The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast, Colin emplores you to do as he does and challenge people when they use the excuse of limited time! Colin says, what is actually being said, is that the task or request you may have (or others have asked of you) is not a high enough priority. This also implies that perhaps it is not worth their...

‘People make mistakes all the time sometimes it leads to bad things and sometimes it doesn’t’ People are encouraged to make decisions and nearly all the time, nearly all our employees are good people who want to do a good job for the business but we are all human and mistakes happen, building systems and capacity are key elements and will change your business. In this episode, Colin explains how y...

In today’s episode, Colin shares with you insights gleaned from delegates at the British Aggregates Association AGM event he attended! There were speakers from the institute of quarrying, Health & Safety Executive, Energy efficiency processes, Environmental providers and more! At the event, Colin attended a talk given by Ed-Leicester Tigers player Rory Underwood, who gave a talk on leadership skil...

Chocolate biscuits have been around for years, yet throughout the ages they have been repackaged, remarketed, produced & shaped differently to make them more exciting for us. In this episode of The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast, Colin explains how we have been presented an opportunity to make H&S exciting, to get people hyped up that they can attend work knowing they won’t get hurt!  KEY TAK...

Welcome to the Interesting Health & Safety Podcast! In todays episode, Colin discusses the how you manage risk in your business? Colin suggests the businesses that are truly successful, are the businesses that understand and control the risks within their businesses and if you can get a great understanding of these two things, you will also be successful! Colin also states that you should leverage...

In this Safety Short, Colin returns from his holiday in Croatia and reflects on the following;  “How well do you challenge your staff/employees to make sure they take their holiday/paid time off?”  Colin used to run a team of H&S advisors (almost 30 people at one time!) and he describes the all too common excuses “I am too busy too take holiday!”, that people martyr their PTO, breaks and annual le...

In this episode of The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast, Colin covers a subject which doesn’t usually come to mind when performing health and safety procedures, and that is Driving At Work. Colin explains how driving can be one of the most hazardous activities an employee can undertake and shares the necessary checks and measures required for your company to be in compliance with the law.  KEY...

In this episode of The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast, Colin explains the processes and steps you should take to assess the chemicals and substances used by employees in the work place following the COSHH legal guidelines. Just because a substance can affect people’s health, this does not mean they cannot but used. We must simply control them to minimise health risks to workers, in turn minim...

Welcome to the next episode of The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast! In today’s episode, your host Colin Nottage discusses how it’s great when Health & Safety is going right in your business. However, it is easy to become complacent and relaxed and you may be letting your business down.   Colin argues this is when you should challenge things when they are going well. This is when you should tak...

In todays episode, Colin discusses Shit Jobs. Colin asks if you can really say that you are doing everything you can, to improve Health and Safety in the work place?   If you can say yes to this, he congratulates you! But the reason he asks is, commonly people will do a great job most of the time.. but occasionally let it slide.   How often do you think about your colleagues, and what they have to...

"If you don't know what you're doing; How do you know if you're going to do it right?" In this short-sweet episode of The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast, Colin asks "How well do you plan for Health & Safety?" He raises some important questions to help you think safe and bring Health & Safety to the forefront of your business. Remember if you need any help with setting challenging proactive ob...

Communication is a two-way thing. This is what you have to take note always when dealing with the internal and external affairs of your business.   In this episode of the Interesting Health & Safety Podcast, Colin interviews Jason Duff, Founder of Keeping HR Simple to highlight how important communication is inside businesses. NLP, also known as Neuro-linguistic programming, might help you improve...

In todays episode of The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast, Colin discusses how this time of year is fantastic for motivating yourself to ‘sort stuff out’, clear out clutter and the therapeutic nature of doing so for your business!  Colin shares a few simple ideas to help you ‘sort it out’ KEY TAKEAWAYS Overheads; What are you paying out and when did you last get a quote? (did you get a discount...

One Small Step In The Right Direction   Want to change your life for the better? Feeling fed up, tired and out of shape? In this episode of The Interesting Health & Safety Podcast, Colin shares how he worked his way out of his lowest point in life and gives key pointers on how you can also work to change and improve your lifestyle by making simple changes to daily routine. Going from 19st 3lbs, dr...

Colin’s back with a brand new episode of The Interesting Health & Safety podcast; this week we explore how we can apply the same strategies and tactics which make sports teams so successful to your own business. Colin describes how small improvements in your workforce’s traits could take your company’s health and safety to the next level. Key Takeaways: GOOD WORK ETHIC & TEAM SPIRIT. Simple change...

“It’s about sharing success and good messages; It’s not always just about saying that’s ‘wrong’ “ Welcome back to the Interesting Health & Safety Podcast! In today’s Safety Short, Colin and Chris speak about Occupational Lung Disease awareness in construction! HSE uses focus periods to draw attention to certain high-risk areas! This year, between the 17th of June and the 12th of July they are focu...

Fire risk assessment not only requires that you check what’s inside your premises but also outside it. Sometimes, even though we’ve carefully planned everything, it’s others’ doings that can derail it all. So, in today’s episode of The Interesting Health and Safety Podcast, Colin urges you to observe what’s around you. Who works around the site? Will the activities be a threat to your business and...

In this Safety Short, Chris Lucas from the  Health & Safety Executive explains some of the issues and failings inspectors regularly find when they go to a site. He provides valuable information about the expected standards for asbestos and dust.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Asbestos Refurbishment Survey There should be a refurbishment survey and this information should have been supplied to the principal contr...

How HOW is a better word than WHY Rather than ask “WHY is a job being done”; ask “HOW is a job being done” and see what kind of results you get. –Colin Nottage  In today’s episode, Colin puts it to you that repeatedly asking is not always the best solution. He even likens it to how toddlers berate their parents, and you can imagine the outcome of that scenario not achieving a helpful or informativ...

We are continually hearing bad news and when times are challenging it can be difficult to keep going and complete activities on a regular basis. The peaks and troughs of work can cause enormous problems but if for all aspects of your business you can implement a little and often approach you will be able to continue to drive your business and health and safety culture  forward whatever the economi...