The Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, a tragedy that led to the loss of 72 lives, cast a harsh light on accountability, safety standards, and leadership in the UK’s construction industry. As investigations revealed, the failure was not solely about faulty materials or violations in Building Standards; it was also about deeper systemic issues, from inadequate communication to a lack of clear responsibility among project leaders and a need to shift behaviours. In the aftermath, the construction industry is being forced to confront its practices, its culture, and its leadership structures. In this new landscape, leadership coaching has emerged as a crucial .....

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Read it in a northern (Wigan) accent. Here goes…
I founded The Safety Social in December 2023, less than 12 months ago and in that time, as a community, we have raised almost £500 for North West charitable causes. Every single penny goes back into the North West community.
The Safety Social covers the North West, England from Cheshire to Lancashire and the bits in between. Although our networking events are all local we do welcome some great contacts into our WhatsApp group because their local area doesn’t have that support we offer.
I started the Safety Social for a few reasons really, to make this an easy read, I’ll bullet point:

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We have been busy since early 2023 making hundreds of pounds for local charities simply by meeting up to socialise as health and safety professionals. Most health and safety professionals, in SMEs are usually the only member of their team dealing with many different challenges, often challenges outside of the health and safety field. The idea behind the social is to give health and safety professionals a place to meet, discuss work topics, make new connections and connect with friends from the profession where the opportunity presents itself...

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In today's digitally-driven world, it's easy to fall into the trap of relying solely on virtual interactions for connecting with people. While online platforms undoubtedly offer convenience, there's something irreplaceable about the value of in-person socialising with other professionals in our industry....

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Hey there, fellow journal enthusiasts and language aficionados! I'm excited to spill the beans about my latest endeavour: the Swearing Journal. Yes, you read that right! It's not your typical daily reflection or gratitude log – it's a wild ride through the world of colourful language. So, what inspired me to embark on this ....

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Testing Construction The Government’s review of the testing of products used in the construction industry, released in the wake of the Hackitt Report and Grenfell Tower tragedy, has thrown the spotlight onto a wide range of serious concerns for the sector. The report – Testing for a Safer Future produced by Paul Morrell and Anneliese Day – goes into considerable detail on the many shortfalls the research uncovered, particularly around the safety of products frequently ...

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New Years Day 2023 was spent on the beach with a good friend of mine. We spent time reflecting on 2022 and what 2023 could potentially have to offer us. Our intention was to 'blow off the cobwebs' after the Christmas holidays, to get some fresh air and to spend a bit of quality time together. That day seems like a lifetime ago but the year has passed so quickly and I am proud of what I achieved in 2023.

I've always had a feeling there was something bigger...

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How resilient is your organisation? We hear the term resilience often. What does it mean? It is the ability of people or things to quickly recover after something unpleasant such as shock or injury – Oxford Dictionary So, if it is about recovering then surely prevention is better than a cure, right? To help make your organisation more resilient there are a lot of things you can do. Horizon scanning. This term has always been one to pop up throughout my career as a risk professional. Looking into the future, semi-predicting...

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Recently I joined Anthony Heys and Dan Adams (TechIOSH) on the Adams and Heys Podcast to have a chat about health and safety.
I loved the introduction, the guys made me sound awesome!
In the News
In the news we talked about RAAC (Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) and whether we thought it was a media storm or crisis.
You can read more here...

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A while ago I wrote this article for IIRSM's the Sentinel magazine and thought I would share it with a wider audience. Grab a brew and enjoy. I have realised that I can be myself and there are no real expectations from others, just authenticity. There is an increasing appeal across industry today for soft skills. Often, the person with excellent soft skills can be trained in the hard skills required for the role. So, what soft skills should we focus on developing? The most common and frequently used is communication. This includes: Verbal – It’s usually very clear to...

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With the world being such a digital place, how can we make ‘word of mouth’ a useful tool in letting others know what we are all about? I have been very fortunate to have a lot of work come via ‘word of mouth’ or even through people that know and trust me because we have built up a relationship over the years. As a new business owner some elements of the responsibilities are new to me. Marketing, accounts and to some extent, networking. So, being the kind of person I am, I investigate the subjects in more depth to gain a better understanding. I discovered...

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On the 14th June 2017, 72 people lost their lives in a tragedy that would lead to a public inquiry, the results of which are not anticipated to be published until 2024. For the first time I passed Grenfell Tower in person recently. Never before have I seen the tower in real life, only images and video footage that the world saw. It stopped the conversation in it's tracks and I instantly put my hand on my heart. My hairs stood on end. I have read so much on Grenfell Tower over the years and kept abreast of updates and...

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On the 14th June 2017, 72 people lost their lives in a tragedy that would lead to a public inquiry, the results of which are not anticipated to be published until 2024. For the first time I passed Grenfell Tower in person recently. Never before have I seen the tower in real life, only images and video footage that the world saw. It stopped the conversation in it's tracks and I instantly put my hand on my heart. My hairs stood on end. I have read so much on Grenfell Tower over the years and kept abreast of updates and...

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Sometimes it can fill us with dread, right? Turns out networking can be quite fun…at least if you do it in a way that you are comfortable with. There are tips and suggestions everywhere you look ‘do this, try this and say this’ or ‘it’s about connecting and turning connections into sales’ and ‘return on investment’. For years, very early in my career I wasn’t a fan of networking, always thought it was just ‘fake socialising’. I was wrong! Years later, I got into the swing of it, talking to people with different experiences, knowledge, personalities and it got interesting...

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Sometimes it can fill us with dread, right? Turns out networking can be quite fun…at least if you do it in a way that you are comfortable with. There are tips and suggestions everywhere you look ‘do this, try this and say this’ or ‘it’s about connecting and turning connections into sales’ and ‘return on investment’. For years, very early in my career I wasn’t a fan of networking, always thought it was just ‘fake socialising’. I was wrong! Years later, I got into the swing of it, talking to people with different experiences, knowledge, personalities and it got interesting....

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Background Bit... Last year I attended a CPD session courtesy of the Lancashire Occupational Health and Safety Group and Paul Difford on behalf of the IIAI. The topic was accident investigation and the approaches to accident investigation. It was a great session and I shall share a little laugh but we shall never speak of it again...when asking Paul to sign my copy of his book I actually forgot how to spell my own name, my first name, Melissa! Chris Knagg CFIOSH FIIRSM FCMI FISQEM won't let me live it down... Alright, now let's get to the point....

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Life Long Learning When we are in high school we inevitably get that pressure to perform in our GCSE's. We are told 'they will set you up for life' and 'you must pick your options based on the career you want'. We get thrust into a showcase of potential careers that, let's be honest about it, would have the school in a great light... Psychologist, teacher, sporting superstar or a lawyer...at 13/14 years old you 'must' make a decision on how you want life to go! My daughter is going through this phase now at high school and I see history repeating itself....

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I got a mentor after 20 years. As someone who is a couple of decades into, what I think is, a successful career you might think I would be a mentor and not mentee. That was certainly my perception when I looked at other people who have been in industry as long, if not longer than me. 'They must know loads, why would they need a mentor?!'. I'm quite happy to say, for the first time in my career, I have a mentor. It's absolutely life changing and that is no exaggeration. Both professionally and personally my growth is very...

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