IOSH president's diary

Goodbyee! Goodbyee! (part 3 – the finale)

So what now?

Well for me it is time to start thinking about what I do next. Do I go back into full time employment, do a bit of consultancy or continue with the retirement? I hope the coming year as Immediate Past President will afford me some opportunities to visit those four branches I never got to visit during the last year. It has been a whirlwind of things and events, things that 30 (or even 5) years ago I would not have thought possible. I have enjoyed the experience immensely and in particular the privilege of meeting so many members at many diverse events across not just the UK but around the rest of the globe.

Is there anything I won’t miss? Well, if I’m honest, it’ll be nice not to wake up at 2 am in a hotel room and wonder “where the heck am I?” or think “where am I supposed to be tomorrow?” In the words of an old Frank Sinatra song “It’s nice to go travelling, but so much nicer, yes it’s so much nicer to come home.”

I hope that I have served you well (but only time and history will tell) and represented IOSH and ultimately you to the best of my ability. I’ve not achieved all that I set out to do 12 months ago but my main aim was to try and dispel the dafter stories that crop up about OH&S and raise the positive profile of the profession and Institution. I believe that with the invaluable help of all the full time staff at the Grange we’ve achieved that aim and above all previous measure. We are being noticed and consulted by those who influence.

Thank you all most sincerely for allowing me the honour and privilege of serving as your president and most especially for the warm, generous and sincere welcomes that I have received as I have gone around the branches, IOSH is alive and well and flourishing thanks to you. I am humbled by what many of you do in both the day jobs and as IOSH volunteers.

I wish Nattasha every success in her coming year of office and know she will do everything in her power to continue to move IOSH and the profession forward. If she has as half a great time as I have had then she will be in for the best year of her career (so far).

Ray Hurst
November 2008

A media storm

19/22 September - I took a break from anything IOSH in order to spend a few days with some old work colleagues in order to visit my old boss (now retired) who now lives in the picturesque Yorkshire town of Howarth (home of the Brontes). 

26 September – A pleasant visit to East Anglia Branch (as a branch member)  to listen to a fascinating speaker on the Barrow-In-Furness legionella prosecution and all its twists and turns relating to the manslaughter charges.  I’ve got to keep those CPD points up to scratch just like everyone else!

Before leaving to get to the meeting I had a call from the media team in the Grange asking if I could do a radio interview over the phone, unfortunately I couldn’t as I would still be driving at the time station wanted to do it. Many thanks to Malcolm Adcock, IOSH’s media manager, who stepped in to do it for me.

After I arrived at the venue and caught up with some branch members I got a call from a researcher at BBC Radio 4 wanting to do a piece on the conkers championships and our sponsorship for the PM programme. This was closely followed by a call from Radio 5 Live who also wanted to run a piece later that day.

To cut a long story short it got as far as Radio 4 booking a taxi to get me from the venue to the BBC Radio Cambridge studios but then PM pulled out (running a story about an attempted aircraft hijack in Germany). However, Radio 5 live drive ran with it via an over the ‘phone interview from home at 6:50pm. I think it went well.

29 September - Late evening I get a call from BBC Radio Essex, can I do a slot on conkers in the morning, happy to oblige but it has to be sooner than they plan because I have to catch an early train to get to London.

30 September – Arrive at my local station at about 6:35 am and as arranged the night before go to the car park to RV with the BBC Radio Essex interviewer. I am expecting to see a van with a great big aerial sticking out of the roof (like last year) but no. It seems as if the radio van has gone on the “blink” with a dodgy clutch. After a couple of calls the interviewer and I “hook up” together around the replacement radio car (a Peugeot 207) but the link with the studio keeps cutting out. In the end I finish up doing the interview over a mobile ‘phone link standing in the pouring rain. Oh the glamorous lifestyle of an IOSH president! However, it went well although the item was also shorter than they planned because of the link up problems. I am beginning to get a bit paranoid about technology and me in light of the Chiltern branch episode and this. If you count the complete crash of my desktop PC (mentioned in the last blog update) technology and I are seemingly at odds.

Hopefully I got the points across about sensible safety. Then on the train to meet up with Rob Strange our Chief Executive in order to attend an IIRSM function being held at the House of Lords. Good to catch up with a number of old friends from IIRSM and talk shop. Lord Hunt of Wirral acts as our host and another good friend of safety professionals Lord McKenzie of Luton gives a presentation which includes encouraging comments about the various safety bodies coming together to look at how we can achieve a regulated profession and debunk the dafter OH&S stories. 

I was also sorry to see that this was the final day at work for Julie Silvester (IIRSM CEO) who I have had the pleasure to meet and talk to about common areas of interest to both IIRSM and IOSH over the last couple of years. She is off to travel the world and I wish her the best of luck in that and good fortune for her future career whatever that may be.

Hong Kong and man flu

3 July: Met by the HK branch Chair and others from the branch Executive and we head off to the meeting with the Deputy Director of Housing, Hong Kong Government. This went exceptionally well, and we discussed a number of issues of mutual interest. 

I attend the HK Branch seminar and a “Meet the President” evening. I was very pleased to present two Presidential Distinguished Service Awards during the course of the evening to Vincent Ho, the Immediate past chair, and another to Frankie Hau. Both awards are richly deserved and reflect the dedication and hard work put in by both to benefit the branch, the Institution and the profession. I was also able to show a further mark of respect by presenting certificates of appreciation to branch executive committee members for their hard work. Too many to mention by name but they know who they are and my thanks go to them once again.

It was also my pleasure to present a chairman’s pendant. It was then on to the main business of presenting a “state of the nation” address to the branch members, quickly followed by “designing in safety and keeping it there.”

4 July: Two more governmental meetings today - with the Deputy Director of Buildings in the morning, and then the Director of Architectural Services in the afternoon. During the evening there is a chance to unwind a little and attend a BBQ with Andy Lo (IOSH Council member) and his wife Anita.

5 July: Now we come to the really fun part. Frankie Hau invites a number of us to visit Ocean Park where he is the Environmental, health and safety manager for a behind the scenes look. Now this is an impressive set up with cable cars, tethered balloons, animals, fish and a range of the usual park rides.  I was particularly interested in the Panda’s (my daughter who is 27 is a Panda fanatic – and has been since she was about 6 months old). So we took lots of photos (which I emailed back home) and spent a fortune on panda souvenirs. There was a ride in a tethered balloon (couldn’t go all the way up – a bit too windy), a ride in a cable car, a visit to see the dolphin show, a look at the jellyfish and shark exhibits. We also saw the construction work currently underway to enlarge and improve the parks facilities.

We then move off to have a look at Stanley Market (and a welcome cold beer).  In the evening we attend a gathering of the Executive Committee to have a traditional Cantonese style meal – I will master the use of chopsticks.

6/7 July: Spend a couple of extra days in HK at my own expense to do a bit of sightseeing – unfortunately on the first of those days I have “man flu” (which has been sneaking up on me for about 3 days) and spend most of the day in bed. The next day it’s raining stair rods and sightseeing is out of the question, so I have a bit of a potter about locally before going off to the airport.

8 July: Fly back to Heathrow.

9 July: Personal admin day.

10 July: Respond to e-mails and try to update this diary.

11 July: Meeting at the Grange with some MEP’s and also for a photo shoot.

Some Seoul searching

27 June: Catch a flight to Seoul in South Korea to attend the 18th World Congress on Safety and Health at Work being hosted by KOSHA and the 24th APOSHO Meeting. Korea means The Land of Morning Calm. The main theme this year is “Safety and health at Work: A Societal Responsibility”.

28 June: Attend the very impressive opening ceremony and afterwards I give the opening plenary presentation to delegates entitled “Designing in Safety – and keeping it there.” Five very eminent speakers from across the globe follow, who talk on a range of issues and we finish off with a Q&A session.

29 June – 2 July: I have to say the next few days became a real blur of events/sessions and meetings. I gave a presentation on Wiseup2work and WHAC to an audience as part of the International Film and Multi Multimedia Festival and Exhibition. I also attended the APOSHO AGM on behalf of the UK and IOSH. It was good to see IOSH represented so well in various sessions with presentations from John Lacey, Rakesh Maharaj, David Evans, Vince McNeilly, and Philip McAleenan among others. I think this shows the high regard in which we are now held by other OH&S organisations around the world.

I was also able to drop into a session run by INSHPO (of which IOSH is a founder member) to listen to the latest in International Transportability of Safety Qualifications. I was also pleased to hear that INSHPO had just had submissions for entry (and had accepted them) from South Korea and China. While the conference was in full swing, IOSH personnel and branch members were staffing the stand.

There were a number of social events laid on for us, and I was very happy to represent IOSH at these -  the first being the APOSHO members evening and the inevitable karaoke.  I am willing to pay good money to ensure that photos of this night and my efforts at both singing and dancing aren't published. However, I think we went over a storm with YMCA (and I’m not saying who was who in the IOSH version of the Village People either). The second event was a Korean evening with a mix of traditional and new Korean culture, which was an absolute delight to see and hear.

2 July: Leave Korea for Hong Kong in order to attend a meeting arranged through the branch.

Home sweet home

13 June: Arrived back in the UK after an interesting and educational visit to the ASSE Professional Development Conference in Las Vegas. Rob Strange and I took part in various meetings while in the US to discuss mutual issues with representatives from the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering and the Singapore Institution of Safety Officers, among others.

It’s clear that we share many of the same challenges, and it’s useful to get together to look at ways forward. It was particularly useful to discuss how health and safety qualifications and competence can be taken with our members when they travel. Not an easy issue to resolve but I felt we made a lot of progress.

I bumped into Lawrence Bamber (an ex IOSH president) during the conference, he’d just been to the ASSE’s Hawaii Chapter conference where he also presented a paper. You may think that the feathers I’m wearing in one of the photos on this blog are colourful – but you should have seen Lawrence’s Hawaiian shirt!

14 June: Found it difficult to get back into BST and spent the early hours watching TV and reading Ceefax and Teletext. Read the Queen’s Birthday Honours list and was shocked to see that the man I have just spent five days with (Rob Strange) has been awarded an OBE for services to health and safety! Well done Rob! I know first hand the efforts he puts in to furthering the aims of this Institution, its members and the profession, and I can think of no more worthy a recipient. He will forevermore be known to me as the OBE-one, and I now know why he felt so at home on the long trek across the skywalk(er) to/from the hotel/ conference centre.

15 June: Spent the day catching up on emails and IOSH business, washing/ironing and repacking to go off to Belfast tomorrow to attend the Northern Ireland Branch AGM on Tuesday, and the Ireland Branch event in Dublin on Wednesday. I also spent some time checking over my presentation on sensible health and safety for the Association of Colleges conference in Leicester on Thursday.

Oh, and it was Father’s day too! My son is on a motorcycling holiday in the Lake District, so I had lunch with just my daughter. They both thought I needed a new suitcase, so they bought me a bright electric blue one. Even I won’t miss it on the airport carousel. 

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas…

This is a term I've heard frequently while here in Las Vegas for the 2008 Professional Development ASSE Conference.  However, one thing that doesn’t stay in Vegas is the undoubted passion of safety professionals from wherever they are based in the world to share knowledge and experiences.

I’m having a little trouble adjusting to the different time zones, having passed through 5 before finally arriving here. I'm drafting this post at 22.45 on Tuesday, but at home in the UK it's 06.45 on Wednesday. The temperature is a pleasantly cool 104 degrees Fahrenheit - thank goodness for air con!

Rob Strange and I attended the ASSE House of Delegates meeting yesterday (Monday) as a guest of Mike Thompson, the current ASSE President, who we welcomed to IOSH08 earlier this year. The House of Delegates meeting is a little like our AGM but different in a number of respects. Various Chapters and individuals came forward and declared sums of money for the ASSE foundation and scholarships totalling over $124,000 - an impressive sum.

Business over, it was off to rehearse for the opening ceremony where I was to give fraternal greetings on behalf of IOSH. I have to say that when I first saw the size of the room and the number of chairs my first thought was “What the heck have I let myself in for?!” But panic aside, it was time well-spent, because I’ve never used a teleprompter before and the training was very useful. I wonder if I can claim  CPD for it?

Then off to a reception for ASSE Past Presidents and Fellows where it was time to renew old friendships like the one with Eldeen Pozniak, President of the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering, and to make some new ones. Off to bed early (or was it late) as my body clock was telling me one thing and my watch something completely different.

Up at 06:00 (local time) and off to the opening ceremony. It was an impressive one with some 3,400 attendees at the conference. Eldeen stole the show as usual when she gave CSSE fraternal greetings dressed as a Las Vegas showgirl, and somehow or another I ended up wearing the feathers too (but not on stage). If you don’t believe me, have a look at the photos on this blog.

I managed to get some time off in the afternoon and visit the famous Las Vegas strip. But unfortunately some of the attractions - such as the dancing water fountains and the Treasure Island stunt show - were cancelled due to, yes you’ve guessed it, ‘elf and safety'. Too windy it seems.

I haven’t won a fortune as yet, so it looks like it is keep on with the day job. However there is always tomorrow. Time to do some final tweaking to the presentation I’m giving to delegates tomorrow entitled “Designing in Safety – and keeping it there.” Also need to properly prepare for 3 meetings we have tomorrow.

And bringing us up to date…

2 June: attended the quarterly update meeting with HSE at Rose Court, accompanied by Lisa Fowlie and Rob Strange.

3 June: travelled to Leicester for presidential team meeting prior to Board of Trustees, then final preparations to my presentation for the ASSE conference next week.

4 June: Board of Trustees meeting at The Grange.

5 June: a rare day at home responding to e-mails, phone calls and making final preparations for the next few weeks’ travelling – which will include America, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Korea and Hong Kong!

The first of these trips starts on Sunday, when I fly to Las Vegas for the ASSE conference with IOSH chief executive Rob Strange.

And on to May…

1 May: Attended the Middle East branch seminar and gave a keynote address. The branch committee had arranged an interesting array of speakers on a wide variety of occupational safety and health issues in the Middle East. In light of my last visit to Dubai back in January, it was great to find a) George W wasn’t expected and b) it didn’t rain. Travelled back to Dubai for an overnight stay and a night out with branch members before a flight back to the UK. I understand there are photos celebrating this event…and my dancing skills (or lack of them) feature prominently in them. How much not to publish?

8 May: Attended the IOSH Honorary Vice Presidents luncheon at the House of Lords, generously hosted by Lord Brougham and Vaux. I gave a keynote address raising the issues that prominently feature in our Get the best campaign. Judith Hackitt talked about how the profession is featured in the media – something we’re all fighting against, and which is now IOSH’s Stop taking the myth! campaign. I particularly liked the part “… a generation of children who will not just be risk averse but risk paranoid…” I was very pleased to confer IOSH Honorary Vice President status on Lord Brougham and Vaux and Judith Hackitt.

9 May: A strange but satisfying presidential visit to the AGM of my own branch (East Anglia) the only branch I have been able to cast a vote at during my visits. Nice to see the branch is alive and well and prospering in deepest Norfolk. I found it quite strange to take over the branch while the election of the new Chairman took place (my first time back in that position since I chaired the branch in my own right all those years ago). It is clearly in good hands.

13 May: Manchester this time to visit and present to the Public Services Group meeting in the afternoon and then on to the main branch AGM in the evening. A very interesting presentation at the main branch meeting from Yvonne Liverton about her early experiences in occupational safety and health. Rather than reiterate what was said, you can read the press release about it here.

14 May: Off to Bristol, somewhat hindered by Rangers supporters in Manchester for their match against Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA cup later that day. The town and station was full of good natured fans but it made the journey into town rather slow and I got a bit worried about making the train. Unfortunately, of course, Rangers lost and the following day it would have been almost imposible to have made the station let alone the train.

In the evening I attended the annual dinner of the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS). I was pleased to be able to congratulate their new president and assure him that IOSH was looking forward to the continuing collaborative work with them that we have already carried out. A great evening spent talking to like minded people.

15 May: Attended the Bristol and West branch AGM (at 08:00hrs) and once again assumed the power of the Branch Chairman (for a very brief period) while we elected the committee and chairman for the ensuing year. Nearly didn’t make it as the taxi driver had no idea where the venue was!. Another warm welcome and lots of good questions from members.

The rest of April

17/18 April: Presidential visit to the Trent Valley Branch for their AGM which gave me a good opportunity to catch up with some old colleagues from Council days of yore and from various committees I've served on over the years. Again, some interesting comments and questions from members following my presentation.

22/23 April: Communications and International Committee meeting and then the Board of Trustees meeting at the Grange. Stay overnight so I can make an early morning start and catch a flight from Birmingham International to travel to Glasgow for the West of Scotland branch AGM meeting the next day.

24 April: West of Scotland branch AGM. Another vibrant well-attended meeting in the Hamden Park National Stadium. I was pleased to take the chair during the election process and hand the chain of office to their new chairman. I was also asked to make presentations to various individuals (not branch members) in recognition of their efforts in promoting occupational safety and health in their organisations. This is an initiative set up by the branch committee some time ago and I commend it to others.

28 April: Off to Leicester to attend what was for me a sad farewell to Norman Walton, who retired that week. Norman had been with IOSH for over 17 years in the membership department and was one of the first of the staff that I got to know well. There can be few in IOSH who don’t know him, I will always be grateful for the help, advice and support he gave me when I first joined the Membership Committee and then became chair of the Professional Committee. I think that almost everyone from the Grange was in attendance at the lunch thrown in his honour along with many others who had worked with him over those years. May he have a long and happy retirement.

29 April: In Central London along with Nattasha Freeman for media training. I found this a useful day and hopefully I'll remember many of the techniques taught next time I’m on air. Straight after the training finished I was off to Heathrow to catch a flight to Dubai (luckily I didn’t need to fly from terminal 5 otherwise I might still be separated from my luggage).

30 April: Arrive Dubai and take a car straight to Abu Dhabi for a briefing about the meetings with the Ministry of health and Labour arranged before attending the Middle East branch seminar and AGM on the following day.

A little later than planned...

OK, I know it has been a long time since the last update but circumstances have got in the way. I fully accept the ”slap on the wrist” for being so tardy.

So what has been happening since the last update? Well, here goes:

On 22 January I chaired a meeting of the Communications and International Committee, the following day I attended a meeting of the board of trustees.

31 January saw me (accompanied by Lisa Fowlie our Immediate past president and Rob Strange our Chief executive) visit Rose Court in London for our regular quarterly update and exchange of information meeting with HSE.

4 February: Travel to Liverpool

5 February: I attended a lunchtime meeting with the Merseyside branch executive committee during which we discussed a number of issues. I then attended the branch meeting itself. My thanks go to the committee and the branch for such a memorable visit, as a result I am looking forward to IOSH 09 that will take place on Merseyside. I know we should have been there this year but issues with the venue and its readiness meant we had to revert back to Telford. I also thank Lisa for her attendance and support at the meeting - although Merseyside is her branch, I realise that it is no mean feat travelling from Anglesey just to hear me talk!

6 February: I travel to Sutton in Surrey to be interviewed by Occupational Health Magazine on my presidential themes and how IOSH is working in conjunction with others in the OH field to improve the health of the working age population.

7 February: I am in Ruislip to attend the funeral of Martin Bessant. Much has already been written about Martin that covers his work over many years for the Institution. Even when he knew he was terminally ill he continued for a long as he could with the moderating team on the discussion forums. I had known Martin for many years and consider myself lucky to have been able to call him friend as well as colleague. Martin and I were part of the original “gang of four” moderators. Of course I also knew him from other areas within IOSH including his years on the council of management. I for one will miss him, as will many others that have come into contact with him. I will always recall his gentle humour, commitment and dedication to the profession and IOSH in particular.

12 February: Travel to Leicester for a pre Council of Management meeting.

13 February: IOSH Council Meeting.

15-20 February: In the Kingdom of Bahrain to chair a session (by invitation) at the 8th American Society of Safety Engineers - Middle East Chapter (ASSE-MEC) conference and exhibition. This was a high profile event with many top quality speakers from across the globe on a range of interesting and informative subjects. There were too many in fact to list and unfortunately too many to attend more than just a handful of presentations.  It was also an opportune time to renew contacts in the Middle East with some of our members who are also part of the ASSE, IOSH course providers and active supporters of IOSH in the region. It will take me quite some time to read through all of the papers (thoughtfully bound in a large tome which added substantially to my luggage allowance) I was unable to attend. I was however, able to listen to the keynote address given by Geoffrey Podger the CEO of the HSE and also an interesting session on “The role of Internationally recognised qualifications in promoting regional heath and safety competence” presented by Barry Wilkes, Development Manager from NEBOSH.

My thanks go to the organising committee for the invitation and the opportunity to be a part of this event in, particular Abdullah M Al-Ghamdi the ASSE Middle East President and Tariq S Al-Ghamdi the Conference Director. I also thank everyone I met for their generous hospitality and friendliness.

It wasn’t all work of course and I managed to fit in, along with Jonathon Gorvin from International Affairs, a visit to the Grand Mosque in Manama (the capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain) to get a better understanding of the region and Islam. Also thanks have to go to Alawi Shubber (one of our course providers who I am pleased to say will be our guest at Telford) and his family for putting on, and inviting us to, a desert party (including camel, traditional Bedouin dancers and music). Photos to appear on this site soon.

Fortunately, unlike Dubai earlier this year, we didn’t have any disruption caused by a visit from George W or torrential rain to hinder proceedings!