This qualification has meant that risks are being considered and managed better in the workplace - it has had a really positive impact on our safety culture
Case Study: Trúc Tran Duy Thanh
At OUCRU we use the NEBOSH HSE Award in Managing Risks and Risk Assessment at Work as training for our workforce. We understand that risk management is one of the key elements of health and safety, so we wanted to deepen all our staff’s knowledge and understanding and ensure that a consistent approach is adopted across all of our sites.
You joined Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in 2015. Can you tell us a bit about the organisation and what you do?
The Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) is a large-scale clinical and public health research unit, which is a non-governmental non-profit organisation. Established in 1991, we are a Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme and mainly receive funding from the Wellcome Trust and the University of Oxford.
We are hosted by different public hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Kathmandu and Jakarta. The main activities undertaken by the research unit are conducting clinical studies and providing support to our hosting hospitals and medical centres in infectious disease diagnosis and treatment.
My role in OUCRU is taking care of the programme-wide health and safety system, which includes OUCRU-HCMC, OUCRU-Hanoi, OUCRU-Indonesia and OUCRU-Nepal.
I understand that you use the NEBOSH HSE Award in Managing Risks and Risk Assessment at Work as training for your workforce. What is the purpose behind this and why is this particularly relevant to your business?
Through our internal and external audits, we found that one of the areas that required improvement was risk assessments and risk management. We understand that risk management is one of the key elements of health and safety, so we wanted to deepen all our staff’s knowledge and understanding and ensure that a consistent approach is adopted across all of our sites. For this reason, we decided to get our health and safety officers and manager to take the NEBOSH HSE Award in Managing Risks and Risk Assessment at Work to improve their knowledge on the subject.
Which staff groups have been given the opportunity to take part and why?
All health and safety professionals in OUCRU participated in the risk management training, which was delivered by NEBOSH Gold Learning Partner RRC International.
To make sure that all our staff have the knowledge they need, we then also arranged for all OUCRU colleagues to receive internal risk assessment training, which was delivered via in-person workshops at each unit/location.
Did the participants find the course useful and enjoyable?
We really did appreciate this course. It has given us a great and consistent understanding of one of the fundamentals of health and safety. In the future we would like to go even further with regard to risk assessment/management technique, providing more examples relevant to our particular organisation’s working environment and more experience sharing.
How has offering this qualification benefitted your organisation so far?
This qualification has given our health and safety practitioners more confidence in conducting risk management activities and sharing this knowledge with their colleagues in the workshops.
The programme we have rolled out, which encompassed the NEBOSH qualification for the health and safety team and the in-person workshops for all other OUCRU colleagues, has meant everyone is more aware of why risk management is important and how risk should be assessed. This is reflecting in how people are acting in the workplace. Risks are being considered and managed better in the workplace, which is what we hoped would happen when the training was arranged. This has had a really positive impact on our safety culture.
What tips for good health and safety practice would you like to share with others?
I practice health and safety with my heart; I always ask myself what could be improved for my colleagues, and how I can empower each person in my organisation in health and safety ownership. So I would say always think of others and how you can help them stay safe at work so that they can return home to their family at the end of the day.
You have personally completed the NEBOSH International General Certificate and the NEBOSH HSE Introduction to Incident Investigation as well as the NEBOSH HSE Award in Managing Risks and Risk Assessment at Work, and are studying for the NEBOSH International Diploma. What impact have these qualifications had for you?
I love health and safety and feel that I have found my career path. These qualifications are part of this pathway, helping me gain confidence, improving my accuracy and enhancing my day-to-day contribution to my workplace, organisation and society.