Case Studies

•  When did you decide you wanted to work in health and safety, and how did you know it was your right career path?

I started my career working on ISO14001 systems, helping to reduce the organisation's environmental impact, and reported to my employer's Health and Safety Department. My manager was a great mentor, and he got me involved in the health and safety side of the role. I found it challenging but also highly rewarding to see the tangible benefits to employees that came by improving the health and safety of their workplace. This rewarding feeling of improving other employees' health and safety led me to make health and safety my career of choice.

• Tell me about your employer and your current job role. What would you say is the best thing about this job?

My current employer is Butterworth Laboratories, which provides contract analytical chemistry services to a wide range of industries. I am the health and safety manager, ensuring that the analysts perform the service we give safely and reduce the overall risks of working with hazardous substances and processes. I enjoy that we get to work on new services for our clients and implement safe working practices for these services. No day is the same, which keeps the work fresh and challenging.

• What do you enjoy most about being a health and safety professional?

Working in health and safety means I get to support many areas of the business, enabling me to work with colleagues from all areas of the organisation. I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing improvements in health and safety in the workplace over time and from reducing risks that employees might be exposed to.

• What achievement are you most proud of, and what are your ambitions for the future?

I'm proud of all my past achievements, but I focus on looking ahead to my next challenge so that I can continue my learning and development.

I plan to continue improving my knowledge and skills related to health and safety, ultimately completing the NEBOSH diploma and working towards becoming a Chartered member of IOSH.

• I understand you have completed your NEBOSH Fire Certificate, studying with Gold Learning Partner Phoenix Health and Safety. Please tell us why you chose this NEBOSH qualification and how taking it has helped you.

I like how NEBOSH takes a holistic approach to health and safety, encompassing all aspects of health and safety. Surprisingly, I enjoy the exams as they test your knowledge, understanding and application of the topic rather than being a tick-box exercise. NEBOSH has helped me broaden my view of health and safety and has also improved my efficiency in performing risk assessments. 

•  Finally, what would your advice be to anyone who aspires to make health and safety their career?

Don't rush into trying to be an expert on every aspect of health and safety; learn and understand risk management principles and the plan/do/check/act cycle. These principles can then be applied to all areas of health and safety. Keep improving your knowledge, as the health and safety field is always evolving with new best practices. Be patient, as it can take time for the results of your hard work to come to fruition in the workplace, but it is so rewarding when it does!