Tyndall National Institute.
On this World Day for Safety and Health at Work, we discuss fostering a safety culture at Tyndall and additional measures to protect staff and students in the midst of the pandemic with Health & Safety Officer Brendan O' Driscoll.
1. What inspired you to pursue a career in Health and Safety?
Very early in my career I was a Site Agent and I found myself taking on a very proactive role in safety. Due to the nature of the work, I took safety very seriously and did my own research on best safety practice. I wanted to ensure that everyone went home to their families each day. After a short time my company offered me a position in the health and safety team and I have never looked back.
2. What role does Health and Safety play in delivering Research Excellence at Tyndall?
Safety plays a critical role in everyday work life. In the absence of safety in the workplace, several factors have the potential to dissolve such as work quality, efficiency and ultimately deadlines may not be achieved. I believe that a successful day at work is when everyone arrives home to their friends and families the same way they arrived at work. This applies to all workplaces and especially research. Research is about pushing boundaries, however if we push safety boundaries the consequences could be devastating. There is a common ground in embracing innovation while still ensuring everyone’s safety in the process. This requires awareness, taking responsibility and everyone playing an active role in ensuring their own and everyone else’s safety.
It’s important to leverage existing knowledge and expertise available internally within organisations. This is why we set up a Good Catch / Near Miss incentive scheme at Tyndall. In order to foster a safety culture throughout the organisation everyone needs to be actively involved. We do this by asking everyone to contribute with their knowledge and expertise as to how we can improve our safety processes and procedures. Suggested safety improvements are reviewed and implemented where possible. Each of these have the potential to prevent an injury or an incident occurring.
3. How is Health and Safety being implemented at Tyndall in the midst of the COVID pandemic?
This is a very strange and challenging time for everyone. While the existing safety procedures and culture needs to be maintained, Covid-19 has brought an entire new risk to the workplace. This needs to be addressed like any other risk by assessing the risk posed to everyone and implementing control measures to mitigate these.
It is a shared responsibility to contribute to slowing the spread of this virus so we can save lives. At Tyndall we have implemented a number of social distancing protocols, in addition to facilitating improved hygiene practices. One of the most important aspects is to educate all Tyndall personnel with the relevant information and controls in order to empower them to make the right, safe choices in their everyday tasks.
4. What have you found most challenging during this period of lockdown?
I found that the biggest challenge is how quickly the situation evolved and how we had to adapt in order to mitigate the risks posed by this pandemic. It has been a very steep learning curve for everyone. In order to maintain such high safety standards at Tyndall, I have always reviewed how best safety practices have been achieved internationally, however the escalated timelines involved with this situation has made this a difficult task.
5. What is your advice for other Managers looking to improve health and safety in the workplace during COVID-19?
My advice to managers is to actively engage with their staff with regard to preparing risk assessments for their work and ensuring that they are adequately trained to do their jobs safely. Safety is everyone’s responsibility and open discussions will bring a variety of potential solutions to the table. This is new territory for everyone and no one person has all the answers. While we must strictly adhere to government advice, there are innovative ways to potentially deal with the new challenges facing us.