Faithful+Gould's Malcolm Shiels: 60 seconds on safety

Malcolm Shiels, senior health and safety consultant at Faithful+Gould

How long have you been involved in health and safety?

At Faithful+Gould, since I joined in October 2006. Prior to this, I worked in health and safety for 10 years, gaining experience of both private and public sectors.

What's the most difficult aspect of your job?

Dealing with the negative perceptions of the role of health and safety and those who implement regulations, which are held by many people at all levels within the industry. Types of headlines used, such as 'Banning conkers', and 'Can't use ladders', tend to perpetuate the notion that individuals working in health and safety do nothing but introduce red tape and stifle creativity.

What's the most dangerous thing you have seen someone do?

The worst has to be a demolition contractor employing cash-in-hand 16-year-olds to remove asbestos-containing materials from a fragile roof. They were working with no instructions, no supervision, and nothing to stop them falling horrendous!

What's the most frequently broken health and safety rule?

Working at height using inadequate access equipment, without ample prevention made for falls. I constantly encounter this on sites.

How do you tackle that?

Through a combination of education, intervention, enforcement, as well as by encouraging and embracing new approaches to safe working - all of these carry equal importance, but need to be delivered by competent and capable individuals and companies.

What do you do with frequent offenders?

If it's clear that a repeat offender has a blatant disregard for safety, the best way to deal with it is in a pure business sense. In the strongest possible terms, tell the client, other clients, and future clients never to employ them again. Hit them hard in the pocket.

What's your top tip for getting better buy-in for health and safety?

Humanise it! Imagine you've had an accident, are incapacitated and confined to bed. How would it affect you and your family? What do you take for granted: walking, sports, on the beach with your kids, going out socialising? All this, and more, could be gone for good.