Leading the pack. Image courtesy of Daniel F. Flickr.com
The 8th International Forum on Work and Safety, which will take place in Beijing, China, from 27 – 29 September 2016, will bring together health & safety professionals, business leaders and government officials to share their achievements, as well as the latest trends and developments in health and safety worldwide.
Speaking on 28 September 2016, Mike Robinson, Chief Executive, British Safety Council presented the business case for the proportionate management of health and safety, as well as exploring the nature of leadership in the industry.
The forum, hosted by China’s State Administration of Work Safety and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), demonstrates the country’s continuous efforts to reduce the toll of workplace injury and ill health and its improving record in occupational safety and health.
Healthcare’s global cost
Robinson remarked, “The global cost of health and safety failures in the workplace is still unacceptably high. Every day, 6,300 people die as a result of occupational accidents or work-related diseases, totalling over 2.3 million deaths per year. This amounts to approximately 4% of global GDP each year, and provides an overwhelming economic reason to protect workers.”
Topics for the Forum included how a company can create an environment where employees are encouraged and supported to identify potentially dangerous situations. Further to that, they can recommend solutions for improvement that would prevent future accidents. To encourage such positive employee engagement in health and safety, the management needs to inspire them with passion and dedication, which are the qualities of true leaders.
Mr Robinson concluded, “Really good leaders are truly inspirational. Their passion and dedication drives people to follow them and to adopt similar beliefs and ideas. They inspire others, not just because of what they say but because of what they do.”
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
