Conference from BCF underscores importance of behavioural safety approaches

The coatings companies in membership of the BCF have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to safety, which is illustrated in recent results from the BCF’s Coatings Care programme which show a 75% reduction in the number of accidents per year. Despite the improved safety record, incidents still do occur and the BCF’s Safety Conference explored how to prevent accidents in the workplace by focusing on the human element of health and safety and improvement of the company’s safety culture.

Key focus on health and safety

Health and safety is a key focus of coatings companies, and with the Sentencing Council’s new guidelines six times higher than before, the financial impact on businesses when something goes wrong can be devastating to a business financially, as well as taking an emotional toll. Speakers at the BCF’s Safety Conference presented a compelling range of talks including Richard Scaife (The Keil Centre), Huw Jones (Health, Safety, Environmental Risk Management), Eddie McCullough (Dekra Organisational Reliability) and Michael Tans (Ramboll Environ) who provided insight into behavioural-safety and its human factors, specifically with regard to adopting a strong safety culture.

Changes over the years

Wayne Smith, Director of Regulatory Affairs Manager at the BCF commented: “The focus for health and safety management has changed over the years and despite this, there are still incidents which unfortunately occur. It is important to look at the human factors and the behaviour of employees to improve behavioural safety and safety culture.”