Case Studies

Almost everywhere within the infrastructure of the world famous stadium, we discover dramatic large-scale photos showing moments of passion from Wembley’s illustrious history. England’s Bobby Moore clutching the Jules Rimet trophy surrounded by his 1966 World Cup winning team mates hangs on one wall. Whilst Sir Bob Geldof, fist clenched and raised, pleading for aid for Africa from the Live Aid stage in 1985 can be found on another.

However, it is our conversation with Graham Losh which reveals a living, breathing passion for health and safety deep within Wembley. This passion was first ignited years earlier when Graham attended a simple induction. At the time, he was working as an electrician and was about to be part of a project at a London railway station.

“The guy who delivered the training really brought it to life, made it memorable and amusing and I remember thinking ‘I would love to do that", Graham explained.

After attending the course, Graham sought opportunities to becoming more involved in health and safety. He became a safety representative but still wanted to take his interest further. Eventually, his wife simply said to him "why don’t you do what you’ve always wanted?" With this support, Graham researched his options and came to a decision.

“To help me make what I wanted a reality, I decided to self-fund accredited training rather than awareness courses. After talking to health and safety colleagues, NEBOSH seemed the logical route; because the qualifications are recognised and sought after by the majority of employers.”

Graham successfully completed the NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety followed by the NEBOSH National Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management. Thanks to a supportive employer a full-time health and safety role was realised. Graham then went on to pass his NEBOSH National Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety. His strong qualifications and practical experience attracted the interest of the FA.

Graham believes it was the ‘passion and enthusiasm’ he showed for achieving international management standards that landed him his 'dream job'.

Graham joined the FA in May 2013 and developed a programme to build on an existing ISO 14001 (environmental) certification achievement. This lead to the attainment of ISO 18001 (occupational health and safety), ISO 20121 (event sustainability) and ISO 9001 (quality) certification. The FA Group health and safety team believe that Wembley is the first stadium in the world to achieve all four.

He has also instigated a ‘Safety Champions’ initiative, with the NEBOSH Health and Safety at Work qualification at its core. The intention of the initiative is to improve the health and safety culture within the FA. 56 employees and business partners have passed their NEBOSH Health and Safety at Work Qualification in less than a year; helping to further develop a positive health and safety culture.

“I see people developing the passion I found at that induction several years ago through the NEBOSH Health and Safety at Work qualification and it’s a great feeling.”

In many ways, we find Graham as inspirational as some of the sporting and entertainment greats on display behind the scenes at Wembley. He is a genuine health and safety role model and champion.