Sharing good practice

The launch of a new Learning Legacy platform on the internet will help companies spread their good health and safety practices, says Roger Bibbings of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)

Something as simple as firms sharing and comparing information can make a huge difference in saving lives and preventing injuries. That is why RoSPA is on the brink of launching an innovative technique to open up the secrets of good health and safety practices from some of the firms that perform best in this area.

We have joined forces with Finning UK, the company that won the top prize at the 2012 RoSPA Occupational Health and Safety Awards, for the exciting Learning Legacy project, which is set to be up and running by the end of the year.

Learning Legacy will be hosted on Finning's website and provide an internet hotspot, where businesses can swap useful sources of information and links on ways they can improve their health and safety record. The web page, which can also be accessed from the RoSPA website, will focus on key themes of employee-led simplification of health and safety procedures; ways of developing team safety dynamics, and safety around the clock with an emphasis on family values and preventing accidents outside work.

The whole approach aims to be as flexible as possible to allow visitors to the Legacy web page to browse and search for good practice ideas and guidance that could help them tackle their own health and safety challenges. It is purely about opening up the good practice knowledge that is already out there to a much wider audience.

Finning strives to make continuous improvements through mentoring and comprehensive training so it stood out as a perfect partner, especially as it is committed to sharing its knowledge and experiences as widely as possible in order to safeguard workers' health. The equipment solutions and power systems company scooped RoSPA's Sir George Earle Trophy - Britain's top competitive award for health and safety - by impressing us with its open and positive culture of care from the top down.

All the 2012 sector award winners and 'commended' organisations are also being encouraged to participate and contribute good practice links on the main themes, but RoSPA also wants to hear from other high performing companies willing to get involved and submit links to various useful sources of information, in all kinds of forms, even videos.

RoSPA ultimately wants to gather as many links as possible that could provide access to relevant guidance, standards, research, alerts, awareness-raising tools, tool box materials, presentations and other materials. The main focus will be on leadership, employee engagement and developing the role of frontline staff to deliver health and safety performance improvements.

RoSPA firmly believes that sharing and comparing really can save lives, and as nominations once again open for our longrunning health and safety awards, it is good to see that this ethos is captivating so many of the companies rewarded in last year's awards programme. Any companies interested in sharing information on the Learning Legacy platform should contact Roger on 0121 248 247 2095 or email: rbibbings@rospa.com