Topic: Health, safety and wellbeing

By Jonathan Norman
March 10th 2016

Health, Welfare and Safety – a legal obligation or a moral imperative for a major project? Full Report

The physical safety of all those working on major projects is a priority acknowledged by all. Zero tolerance towards risky behaviours has been adopted throughout our industries as the best way to ensure that our personnel remain safe. But it is easy to become complacent and to assume that we have “solved” Health & Safety. We need to ensure that focus and enthusiasm is maintained and that safety is high on the agenda of all leadership teams. We also need to ensure that mental health as well as physical health is prioritised – so that our delivery teams are as protected from the mental stresses of working in this environment; providing them with appropriate training, support and resources in much the same way that we provide them with PPE.

This half day seminar will examine the subject of Health, Safety and Welfare from multiple perspectives including: legal requirements, behavioural modification and learning across industries and countries. We will hear how the Royal Mail have delivered a huge modernisation journey which impacted upon 143,000 employees while maintaining the health and future of the universal postal service and the Director, People and Capability of the HSE will provide insights to their current priorities.

There will be a panel discussion that reflects on the moral imperative and the legal obligations and will cover stress avoidance and the importance of leadership commitment.

By Jonathan Norman
May 15th 2014

The Stress of Leadership – how and when do we intervene? Highlight Report

The role of Project Director (or leader or manager) can be extremely demanding. Too often perhaps the person is appointed because he or she has demonstrated a capability to deliver under demanding time and/or cost constraints. Many senior persons are promoted because they have ‘proven’ their skill sets on previous projects, rather than perhaps based upon an assessment of the needs and demands of the new project.

Many major projects can also be conducted under stressful conditions, both physically and in relative isolation, especially overseas.

We know too, that project leaders tend to take on more than perhaps they should, set themselves and the project unrealistically high standards and often won’t seek help.
How can we spot the early signs of stress in key project staff?

This evening event will attempt to recognise that sometimes our organisations might be asking too much of project leaders. In those situations the employer (and others) have a duty of care to these persons to intervene in some way to help, guide, assist or in extreme situations to remove the person for their own good.
As caring organisations we need to be able to recognise when pressures turn to stress and to decide if, how and when we should intervene.
We shall hear from experts in stress related employment, understand what good practice feels like and reflect how we might improve our understanding and potential future actions.

By Jonathan Norman
May 15th 2014

The Stress of Leadership – how and when do we intervene? Full Report

The role of Project Director (or leader or manager) can be extremely demanding. Too often perhaps the person is appointed because he or she has demonstrated a capability to deliver under demanding time and/or cost constraints. Many senior persons are promoted because they have ‘proven’ their skill sets on previous projects, rather than perhaps based upon an assessment of the needs and demands of the new project.

Many major projects can also be conducted under stressful conditions, both physically and in relative isolation, especially overseas.

We know too, that project leaders tend to take on more than perhaps they should, set themselves and the project unrealistically high standards and often won’t seek help.
How can we spot the early signs of stress in key project staff?

This evening event will attempt to recognise that sometimes our organisations might be asking too much of project leaders. In those situations the employer (and others) have a duty of care to these persons to intervene in some way to help, guide, assist or in extreme situations to remove the person for their own good.
As caring organisations we need to be able to recognise when pressures turn to stress and to decide if, how and when we should intervene.
We shall hear from experts in stress related employment, understand what good practice feels like and reflect how we might improve our understanding and potential future actions.

By Jonathan Norman
May 12th 2011

The challenges of delivering renewable energy projects – using examples of offshore wind Full Report

Delivering Renewable Energy projects, especially those in an off-shore location has been with us for a number of years. Whilst not just limiting this to Wind Farms specifically, there are a number of options that exist which need to be analysed in order to allow the 2020 Carbon Reduction Targets and Vision of Zero Carbon to be achieved. The current energy policy appears not to acknowledge key issues of affordability and funding for renewable energy projects, and yet the scale of wind farms in particular provides new challenges for engineering and financing.

Through the direction of the Chair for the Event, we will see a strong holistic approach in how the National and European suppliers are exploring off-shore resources specifically how the “Source to Customer” issue is being addressed. We will hear from the Chair of the HSE how they intend to set the fundamentals of Policy and Strategy for Safety, this will provide the foundation for all that follows and underpin with a positive intent the way that these types of projects are delivered. Following this, we look again to government through DECC to share current thoughts on the Strategy for Financing and to outline the commercial opportunities that we know are currently being pursued. Pivotal will be the Policy and Strategy for Integration of the new ‘Super Grid’ with the existing National Grid and the author and developer of that Strategy will share his thoughts. Implementation of these projects, both from a technical and commercial viability standpoint is crucial and key messages will be shared to inform the overall analysis and discussion set against the Policies and Strategies that are being established.

Given the sheer scale of these projects (£150bn+), members from all sectors will be involved in the schemes’ development and delivery. Members will take away a very clear and valuable understanding on the current Policies and Strategies that will be in place and more specifically how they can work with this knowledge in positioning their organisations to help drive towards successful outcomes.

By Jonathan Norman
May 18th 2004

The Channel Tunnel Rail Link Full Report

London and Continental Railways won the contract to build and operate the The Channel Tunnel Rail Link in 1996. What were the lessons of this most iconic of infrastructure projects?

By Jonathan Norman
November 15th 2002

Creating a Workforce Fit to Deliver Major Projects Full Report

This seminar looked at how to nurture the skills, health, welfare and motivation of the major projects workforce.

By Jonathan Norman
October 26th 1995

13th Annual Conference – The Changing World of Risks Full Report

With rapid change now the norm, this conference looked at the implications for project risk and how managers are adapting to respond.

By Jonathan Norman
September 8th 1994

The Impact of Environmental Health-and-Safety Factors on Major Projects Full Report

Major projects can be complicated by a range of environmental health and safety factors: contaminated land; complex public involvement; the environmental impact assessments; challenging geopolitical legacies.

By Jonathan Norman
April 26th 1993

Management of Safety-Critical Systems Full Report

This seminar looked at the reliability and safety of automatic systems in major projects for industries such as aerospace, defence, transport, power and healthcare.