Introducing Phillip Cottam Head of Health, Safety, Environment and Quality at RPS
From the Royal Air Force to the Head of Health and Safety, Phil has had a varied and interesting career, transitioning from the Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) to an accomplished Health and Safety professional. Now, as a new member of the RPS team, Phil shares his story, explaining how he first got interested in health and safety and why he chose to join RPS.
15 August 2024 | 3 min read
How did you first become interested in the Health and Safety field?
I worked within the training cell of my squadron as I was on an 18-month rehabilitation programme within the military. My primary role was to manage the training needs of the operational squadron, focusing on the training needs and gap analysis for each member of the regiment to develop individual training plans. Having received formal notification that I was being medically discharged, I took my NEBOSH General & Construction certificate.
Following the successful result of my exams, I began working with the Training Officer in developing risk assessments for the deployment of the Squadron to Afghanistan. This opened the doorway to the world of Health and Safety.
What led you to Health and Safety?
I was granted leave by the military in December 2012 to complete a two-week work experience within a large Facilities Management company. Following a successful couple of weeks, in April 2013 I wrote to the QSHE Director, who gave me the work experience opportunity, and asked if I could place him as a reference. He said ‘’I can do better than that and give you a job’’. I was mentored, trained, exposed to various challenging work/ client environments, and pushed academically to become a better version of myself. The opportunities were made available to me and I began climbing the ladder within the Health and Safety industry.
How do you relate your experience with your current role?
One of my roles in military operations was the Medical Emergency Response Team, known as MERT. The MERT team provided critical treatment to casualties, flying to collect the wounded from point of injury. This role was high intensity and often flying into unknown environments, where assessing risk in constantly evolving situations was the ‘’norm’’.
Risk is something that I began to respect, and naturally steered me into a career in Health and Safety. An industry that I think all service men and women should at least consider when moving away from the military. Something that employers looking to develop a new pool of health and safety talent should also consider. Very similar to what I had and the start of my journey.
What do you consider to be the most important aspects of Health and Safety in the workplace?
Within the military, there’s a saying that is well known across the tri-service, ‘’no comms, no bombs’’ indicating that communication within the military is vitally important. Well, this is no different in the Health and Safety industry.
Striving to maintain a strong positive culture, the communication of continual improvements, lessons learnt, or meeting the needs of our customers is paramount. The way that these expectations are communicated and coached is a fundamental way to achieving the companies’ objectives.
Why did you join RPS?
RPS is a multidisciplinary organisation with an amazing range of skills, expertise and experience. While the immense span of a company of this size does offer its challenges, it also offers a great deal of opportunity. Opportunity in connecting people across the business and creating salient change which makes a difference to all their lives.
At the same time, the work that RPS does is deeply important and valuable and ensuring the safety of all its employees is vital. For me, this is a brilliant prospect to utilise my expertise and provide value to a company which is solving important problems in our world.
Interested in a career at RPS?
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