3/23/24, 2:25 AM 'A high profile incident or accident can be critical for a business': In coversation with Bryan Lawrie,

Bryan Lawrie, Arco - SHP - Health and Safety News, Legislation, PPE, CPD and Resources

INCIDENTS AND ACCIDENTS

‘A high profile incident or

Safety & Health Practitioner
(https://www.shponline.co.uk/author/shp/) accident can be critical
for a business’: In
Informa Markets

Author Bio ▼

August 29, 2018

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Health and safety failings in the workplace can have detrimental
Enter email address consequences for the reputation of a business.
Country/Region * Between 2016/17, there was 609,000 self-reported non-fatal injuries to workers and 137
workers were killed at work during this time. Fatalities and injuries can have a serious
United Kingdom impact to a company’s reputation, impacting the industry’s ability to build trust with the
company as well as business productivity and output. SHP spoke to Bryan Lawrie, Sales
and Marketing Director at Arco (https://www.shponline.co.uk/ppe/arco-experts-in-
I'm not a robot safety/) to find out more.
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In business, reputation plays a huge part in the success of a

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company. How detrimental can a high-profile incident or
accident be to an organisation’s reputation?
Bryan Lawrie (BL): “For many companies, a high profile incident or accident can be
critical for the business. In some cases companies are not able to recover from the
reputational damage and the business may subsequently go bust. This very much
depends on who’s at fault and how the company handles the aftermath, both internally
and externally.

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3/23/24, 2:25 AM 'A high profile incident or accident can be critical for a business': In coversation with Bryan Lawrie, Arco - SHP - Health and Safety News, Legislation, PPE, CPD and Resources

“Some of the effects experienced by companies

following an incident include media grilling, negative
public opinion, financial penalties, unwanted attention
from pressure groups, disastrous sales, reduced profits
and a negative profile for potential clients. Obviously
the best way for companies to avoid these situations is
to ensure they have a robust health and safety process
in place and that their workers are protected, but it’s
also beneficial for organisations to have a crisis
communications plan in place if an accident does
occur.

“Ensuring safety is embedded into a company’s culture

rather than being perceived as a ‘tick box exercise’ is a
positive way of improving overall attitudes to the issue.
There’s sound evidence to show that health and safety
should start at the top of the business. Business
leaders, owners and managers need to demonstrate
their commitment to keeping their workforce safe, making a positive impact on attitudes
(https://www.shponline.co.uk/downloads/is-your-
and inspiring workers to be healthy and safe. Having a workforce that isn’t motivated to
organisational-structure-destroying-your-culture/)
take health and safety seriously could lead to more incidents.”

Do you feel that some organisations overlook the

importance of the role of health & safety practitioners when
it comes to maintaining reputation?
Bryan Lawrie (BL): “Health and safety is such a critical topic in almost all industries, it
would be extremely hard for an organisation to simply overlook the importance of
compliance, from both a reputational point of view and also a moral one.
Is your organisational structure
“More often than not, health and safety is now being placed at the top of the boardroom
destroying your culture?
agenda, so professional practitioners are increasingly being seen to add real value to the
business. However, I do feel that companies can often just focus on the immediate
financial implications rather than the long term reputational effect; even though this will
have a detrimental effect on profit. By working with health and safety practitioners,
employers can reduce the chance of an accident occurring, therefore, maintaining
reputation. Practitioners should be valued all year round, not just following an accident.”

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3/23/24, 2:25 AM 'A high profile incident or accident can be critical for a business': In coversation with Bryan Lawrie, Arco - SHP - Health and Safety News, Legislation, PPE, CPD and Resources

It’s not just the most serious incidents that can have an
effect. What kind of an impact can non-fatal injuries have on
the morale and productivity of a workforce?
Bryan Lawrie (BL): “We have seen a downward trend in non-fatal injuries to workers over
the last few years, which is always encouraging to hear. The use of PPE
(https://www.shponline.co.uk/ppe-personal-protective-equipment/?cid=nav) and the
awareness surrounding its importance has clearly had a positive affect to injury rate,
however, we would obviously like to see this figure continue to reduce. It’s also important
that employers maintain their awareness of day to day risks and pass these onto their
workforce to be seen to promote a safe working environment, this includes offering
training and ensuring worker’s PPE is in good working condition. This will go a long way
to increase employees’ productivity and keep morale high; if employees feel that their
employer is investing both time and money into their wellbeing, it will have a positive
effect on their attitude whilst at work.

“It’s also vital that employers show their workforce that they take non-fatal injuries
seriously and are committed to keeping employees safe – again, this will go a long way
ensuring morale remains high.”

How many incidents and accidents have, in part, been

caused by workers not wearing the correct PPE?
Bryan Lawrie (BL): “It’s difficult to say how many incidents were due to misuse of PPE
without having access to the findings, however, it’s important to note that although PPE is
there to protect workers, it should be seen as the last line of defence. Health and safety
processes should be in place to engineer out any risks. However, when PPE is needed it’s
important that the products provided are fit for purpose, meet the standards required and
are high quality.”

How can Arco help minimise the risk to employees by

ensuring that practitioners are aware of what clothing and
equipment their staff should be wearing?
Bryan Lawrie (BL): “We are able to recommend and advise our customers on any
specialist equipment and regulatory requirements. We can also offer training for
specialist equipment including Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE), including Face Fit
Testing, as well as other kit used in hazardous environment such as confined spaces and
working at height (https://www.shponline.co.uk/who-is-responsible-for-working-at-
height/?cid=nav).

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3/23/24, 2:25 AM 'A high profile incident or accident can be critical for a business': In coversation with Bryan Lawrie, Arco - SHP - Health and Safety News, Legislation, PPE, CPD and Resources

“What’s more, we can ensure that all equipment and clothing we supply is completely
compliant and meets all regulations.”

If an injury should occur to

a member of staff or a
member of the public,
what steps should an
organisation take to
minimise damage to its
reputation and maintain
public trust?
Bryan Lawrie (BL):“Firstly they need to
determine the cause of injury and the
circumstances surrounding the
accident. If the Health and Safety Executive (https://www.shponline.co.uk/health-safety-
executive-hse/?cid=nav) is involved in any investigation, then the business should fully
comply with the requirements of the inspectors. When the investigation has concluded,
whether an internal investigation or one involving the HSE, it’s important to notify staff
and customers of the results and the actions you are going to take to prevent this from
happening again.

“It goes without saying that any responsible employer will work with the person affected
and their family to ensure they have the help needed to make a full recovery and, where
possible, are able to return to work.”

‘New PPE Regulations see the most significant change in 20

years’. SHP recently caught up with Neil Hewitt, Divisional Director of
Quality and Technical Standards at Arco, to find out about the
introduction of new PPE legislation and what everyone in the supply
chain must now do in order to be compliant with the regulation.
(https://www.shponline.co.uk/shp-meets-neil-hewitt-arco/)
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