The British Security Industry Association has announced the launch of a new Health and Safety Forum, dedicated to sharing industry best practice and promoting the importance of health and safety for industry practitioners, their employees and their customers.
Launched in light of the growing importance of health and safety within the security sector, the forum has been created in response to demand from BSIA members. In a recent survey conducted by the Association, 93% of respondents expressed a keen interest in participating in such a forum, which aims to deal with important issues including violence in the workplace, accidents and preventative measures.
Open to representatives from all BSIA member companies, the Health and Safety Forum aims to facilitate the sharing of information and best practice, galvanising members’ commitment to health and safety into positive action while informing them of the latest developments in relevant legislation.
Trevor Elliott, Director of Manpower and Membership Services at the BSIA, comments: “The Association already operates a very active HR Forum, and it is hoped that the Health and Safety Forum will prove equally successful in uniting member company representatives with a common focus.
“Health and safety of front line workers has been thrown into the forefront of public discussion recently, with a report from the Greater London Authority Conservatives (GLAC) indicating that a chilling sixty-six thousand frontline workers have been punched, kicked, spat on and even murdered whilst undertaking work-related duties. Assaults against security officers were also highlighted by this report as an ongoing issue.”
“As such, health and safety has become a key issue for our industry, not just for the protection of our frontline security workers but also for the customers that our industry helps to protect.”
The forum will meet for the first time at a launch event, taking place at Chelsea Football Club in November. The launch event will provide an initial informal networking opportunity for health and safety professionals, alongside a tour of Chelsea Football Club and an opportunity to learn more about the BSIA’s Health and Safety Forum, its objectives and forthcoming projects. Sponsoring the event is BSIA member company, VSG, who have been instrumental in the development of the Forum.
Peter Stubbs, Director of HSE – Support Services for VSG, comments: “VSG is committed to being the ’employer of choice’ within the industry and as part of that commitment we have a “Safety First” aspiration. Our people are our biggest asset and we focus on ensuring they go home safely at the end of their shift, having done a great job for the client. We are delighted to be able to sponsor this event with the aim of encouraging cross-business sharing of HSE best practice.”
At the helm of the Forum and facilitating the launch event is Bobby Logue, Managing Director of Interconnective Ltd. Bobby adds: “ Due to increasing concerns surrounding Health & Safety (H&S) incidents in the security industry, it is appropriate that the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) initiates the establishment of a high level H&S forum for its members. The purpose of the forum is to understand the related industry wide issues and collect industry statistics on all H&S incidents. This would then form the basis of an industry strategy to reduce H&S incidents. Where necessary, the forum could provide empirical evidence to the Security Industry Authority (SIA), where the BSIA members believe additional industry wide training needs are required as well as other regulatory measures that could be considered.”
Representatives of BSIA member companies interested in attending the launch event can register their interest by completing an online registration form, accessible via the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SVC5Y9B