In my last blog, “Human Error – We all make mistakes” (see here), I shared a personal experience involving DIY and a domestic electrical system. Fortunately, or perhaps I should say luckily, one where there was no bad outcome. We got away with it scot-free. The point I made in that blog was that human error was very much in evidence. And the particular human error illustrated was a mistake (from the human failures model in HSG 48: Reducing error and influencing behaviour). Swiss Cheese In this blog I would like to look under the bonnet of the event to look beyond the mistake that was committed. That mistake was,…
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Human Error – We All Make Mistakes
In my early twenties I lodged for 6 months with a married couple who I knew from work. They had just bought a terraced house and had a room going spare. The house needed a bit of work doing on it and Dave was a DIY enthusiast. One wet Sunday afternoon he asked me if I would give him a hand with some electrical wiring work. Now I am not an electrician. Nor was he. But I wanted to show willing so jumped straight in to help. As we got towards the end of the work we came to the critical task of making final connections into the fuse box…
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The Dangers of Heat Stress
Nice Weather We have been enjoying a relatively warm, dry spell in some parts of the UK recently. For many of us summer has finally arrived after a rather disappointing spring. On my local patch the farmers are making hay while the sun shines. But every silver lining has a cloud and for some people that cloud is heat stress. Heat Stress Heat stress is what happens when your core body temperature starts to creep up above the normal 37oC. The human body has complex thermoregulatory mechanisms to keep core temperature at or close to 37oC. If these mechanisms fail to work effectively then very significant health effects will start…
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Benefits of Studying NEBOSH HSE Certificate in Leadership Excellence
The NEBOSH HSE Certificate in Health & Safety Leadership Excellence has been developed through collaboration between NEBOSH and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – the UK’s Health & Safety Regulator. This qualification aims to provide holders with the knowledge and understanding of Health & Safety Leadership to ensure that they can contribute to the effective management of their organisations overall performance. Inspire Change and Influence Positive Health & Safety Culture The course emphasizes how leadership behaviours can influence the health and safety culture of an organisation and it aims to guide leaders to become better advocates for health and safety within their organisations (NEBOSH, 2019). By integrating The HSE’s…
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Climate Change Warning – The Age of Stupid
Are we in ‘The Age of Less Stupid’? Recently while I was away working in Glasgow I was in a hotel room with little to watch on normal TV, I decided to take a look at BBC iPlayer to see if there was anything worth watching. I came across a film called ‘The Age of Stupid’. I’ve got to admit I’d never heard of this film and didn’t really know much about the content. It turned out to be a TV gamble worth taking and contained themes that are relevant to my day job as an environmental trainer and consultant. The Age of Stupid – Background I really enjoyed watching…
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Benefits of Studying NEBOSH HSE Introduction to Incident Investigation
The NEBOSH HSE Introduction to Incident Investigation is the second collaborative course from NEBOSH and the HSE (the UK’s health and safety regulator). RRC are one of the first course providers accredited to offer this course. The course is designed to enable learners to be able to carry out solo accident investigations, produce risk control plans and contribute to team accident/incident investigations for large-scale investigations. The course is aimed at managers, supervisors, SHE champions, union representatives and aspiring health and safety practitioners. However, there are no entry requirements other than possessing an underpinning knowledge of health and safety issues – the course is versatile and can be studied by individuals…
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Benefits of Studying The NEBOSH HSE Certificate in Process Safety Management
The NEBOSH HSE Certificate in Process Safety Management is a collaborative course from The UK’s Health and Safety regulator (HSE) and NEBOSH. It is a specialist certificate aimed at those who work within the process industries; such as oil and gas, chemical plants and pharmaceuticals. Given the hazardous nature of the work environments involved in process industries, the course is suitable for managers, supervisors and safety professionals that would like a specialist qualification in process safety management. Here is an explanation of what process safety actually is, and benefits of studying the course. Difference Between Personal/Occupational Safety and Process Safety Occupational safety is defined as concern over slips and trips,…
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Carbon Monoxide – The Silent Killer
Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas that is a product of the partial combustion of carbon based fuels such as natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), oil and wood. As many of you know carbon monoxide is lethal if inhaled. It interferes with the transport of oxygen by the blood. Oxygen is transported in the blood by haemoglobin inside red blood cells. Haemoglobin is a protein. Your red blood cells are jam-packed full of haemoglobin and not much else. When red blood cells pass through blood vessel in the lungs they collect oxygen molecules. Oxygen molecules diffuse from the air in the lungs, through the lung wall…
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Preparing for The NEBOSH Diploma Exams & Case Law
The NEBOSH Diploma is about the practical application of ‘background’ theory and knowledge to occupational health and safety (OHS) problems. Geek Now I love a bit of science. The background theory fascinates me and the practical applications can be mind-boggling. Many parts of the NEBOSH Diploma are very much concerned with the practical application of science and engineering to real-world OHS problems. COSHH is about the practical application of biology and chemistry to OHS. So is CAR. LOLER is about the practical application of physics and engineering to OHS. So is PUWER. So is DSEAR. It is also about the practical application of legal principles. And psychology (safety culture and…
