Foreword
I have always envied my friend Roger Bibbings who for thirty years has been paid to be a professional observer of health and safety policy and strategy in the UK, first for twenty years in the trades union movement and for the last ten as RoSPA’s Occupational Safety Adviser. Since 1996, besides being paid to think about and advise on how his masters should respond to consultative proposals from the Health and Safety Commission or other official bodies, Roger has been writing a his monthly column for RoSPA’s magazine, ‘OS&H’ - flying kites, being suitably iconoclastic but also trying to present his own ideas on some of the main strategic themes of the day.
Whether it has been commenting on directions in thinking about health and safety management systems or specific features of management such as board level leadership, accident investigation and performance measurement - or whether it has been reflecting on the development of wider national (or indeed international) strategy for improving health and safety at work, Roger has been able to make contributions to debate precisely because he has had a tower of sorts (if not an ivory one) from which to view the world. But he has also enough of a practical turn of mind to understand the implications of particular policies for people at ground level.
Much of the inspiration for this collection of pieces comes from the work Roger has been engaged in at RoSPA in lobbying for its ‘key issues’; not least his efforts to get risk on the road while at work managed and regulated as part of the contemporary H&S mainstream. The articles are grouped together under broad thematic headings. Many of them, like the products of the diarist quickly show their age but equally are of historical interest to remind us about debates that were going on only a few years ago. Others are more forward looking and raise questions which have still not even begun to be answered satisfactorily. What is it that really prevents accidents and injury to health? How do regulators ensure the right ingredients are in place? The effective management of health and safety goes right to right to the heart of operations, so why is it persistently marginalised? Where does the enhancement of health and safety risk management and regulation sit alongside other important developments in society and the economy?
Traditionally these are not questions that tend to occupy the centre space in current debates in the health and safety profession (if such a discipline exists) or indeed in teaching or research. Roger’s decision to publish via the Internet (which increasingly is a more cost effective option than traditional hard copy) has delivered yet another important source for students and practitioners. Having known him for many years I know he loves to provoke and to challenge. I hope readers will take time to dip into this collection and respond to him directly.
| Prof Richard Booth, Aston University | June 2005 |
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