Overcoming Dismissive Attitutes to Health & Safety

When we talk about health and safety at work, it can sometimes be a challenge to overcome dismissive attitudes. H&S can be perceived as bureaucratic or condescending … ‘Health and safety gone mad!’

So how can businesses overcome this?

In partnership with Kineo, we recently worked with SafetyOn, the health and safety group for the onshore wind industry, supported by the Energy Institute. Their data revealed that hands are the most frequently injured body parts. But we tend to think of hand injuries as fairly trivial.

So, to fit into the SafetyOn wider learning programme, we created a documentary that tells the real-life story of Charles (aka Chaz), a wind-turbine mechanic who – in a split second – sustained a life-changing hand injury.

He describes how the accident happened (complete with grizzly photos: consider yourself warned) as well as the ongoing pain and the long-term effects of the injury. Even the simplest everyday tasks, like tying his shoelaces were impacted and required relearning.

People think that accidents happen to ‘other people’ who behave recklessly or stupidly. But Chaz is clearly a sensible, intelligent, diligent guy that the audience will relate to, so his story really brings to life the reality of the risks.

Whatever your message, films of real people telling real stories are a powerful communication tool that can be easily incorporated into wider learning and development programmes.

Thanks to Chaz for sharing his cautionary tale to warn others about the reality of the dangers.

Return to What's New