RPS promotes health and well-being at annual Safety Stand Down Event
The annual RPS Programme of Safety Stand Down Events concluded last week in Scotland.
30 November 2023 | 3 min read
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Held at the Best Western Hotel in Glasgow, RPS hosted the event to reiterate its commitment to the safety of its workforce. With over 150 employees in attendance, the event was the last and largest of a series of safety stand down events conducted across the UK by RPS.
The Safety Stand Down events were created to dedicate time and space for employees to collectively focus on safety awareness, share best practices, and engage in open dialogue about potential hazards in the workplace. The event emphasises a dedication to fostering a culture of well-being, collaboration, and continuous improvement with attendance from directors and teams in AS&I, Water Consulting and many more.
Steve Hogg, Managing Director for Water Consulting in the UK, emphasises the event’s importance.
It’s great to see so many of our colleagues attending our health and safety stand down event in Scotland. Making sure our team work safely is always a top priority. These events are a fantastic opportunity to take the team out of their usual environment and re-energise our focus on health and safety.
Steve Hogg
Water Consultancy Director
Real-life Case Studies
The presentation included engaging real-life case studies, illustrating incidents from various industries, and highlighting the lessons learned. These case studies served as powerful tools for enhancing situational awareness and reinforcing the importance of stopping, thinking, and continually assessing the environment to avoid risks and harm. The case studies all demonstrated how being conscious and prepared can help in keeping you safe at work.
The presenters also demonstrated the dangers of complacency, one of the major causes behind health and safety incidents. Complacency is when one performs routine and repetitive tasks consistently, resulting in them overlooking key factors and salient hazards.
“When you see how others have done it, it provides a lot of perspective on what to do and what not to do.” Said one attending RPS Employee. “It also puts you in their shoes and makes you think, what would I have done?”
Demonstrations and Simulations
Practical demonstrations and safety simulations were conducted to provide knowledge in dealing with potential hazards and mitigation. The attendees were also shown training videos to demonstrate proper technique when carrying, lifting, or moving heavy items. 3-D representations were utilised to reiterate the consequences of poor handling and the long-term damage poor handling can have on the bones, muscles, and tendons. As the instructors in the training videos emphasised, “prevention is better than cure.”
These demonstrations not only enhanced employees' skills in assessing risks but also facilitated a better understanding of the importance of proactive safety measures.
“I’ve had back pain my whole life, so being reminded of the proper technique for lifting, carrying and handling was very useful.” Said an RPS attendee.
Employee Engagement
RPS emphasized the involvement of all employees in the event. From top-level management to frontline workers, everyone was encouraged to actively participate in discussions, share insights, and contribute to the collective goal of maintaining a safe working environment.
RPS team members also participated in interactive exercises to spot risks. A digital feedback form was also sent to all attendees to encourage a healthy conversation. Employees were also reminded on how to report hazards as previously stated in their training and RPS procedures and policies.
“I appreciate the level of detail and the variety of examples they gave. It seemed like everyone put a lot of effort into ensuring staff safety.” concluded another RPS team member.
Looking Ahead
The Safety Stand Down Events have already promoted a positive impact, resulting in reduced incidents across each department.
With many strong themes running throughout the event, the event made it clear that health and safety is about making the right choices in our day-to-day work, and with this event, the team have been reminded, and trained to do just that.
Eric Hutchison, Regional Director for Water Consulting in Scotland, is confident about the impact these events will make. “We’ve made big strides forward in our approach to Health and Safety over the last 10 years and we aim to keep on improving. It was important to get the team together today, and to reinforce our individual and collective responsibilities for Health & Safety.”
RPS plans to continue hosting regular safety-focused events, integrating safety practices into daily operations, and continue promoting a workplace culture where safety is a shared responsibility. By prioritizing safety through education, engagement, and continuous improvement, RPS aims to set a benchmark for safety excellence in a multitude of disciplines and industries.
Eric concludes the event with a hopeful message. “We’ve had some great ideas put forward, and we’ll use these to look at how we continue to improve, with our aim being to make sure everyone can return home safely from work each day.”